Kitsune Memories
by Thelow
Summary: Captured by Orochimaru and experimented on Naruto is changed and lost. What will happen when his friends come to save him from his imprisonment? NaruHina
1. Forced Change

Kitsune Memories

Disclaimer: I cursed the day I learned I don't own Naruto

This is a story I decided to write along side with current one Guardian. I will likely focus on this story less than my current main focus, but I really wanted to write this down before I lost the idea (plus it's a good way for me to relax when it comes to other stories). Pairings if you really want to know will be NaruHina, SasuSaku, and….well I don't know yet but there will likely be more. On to the show.

Forced Change

Drip…

A low groan escaped the figure lying down on the table as the droplet of water landed on his forehead.

Drip…

"Where am I?" He still had his eyes closed, but he could still feel the metal shackles wrapped around his wrists, ankles, and last his neck. The dripping reminded him of the Kyuubi's cage, but the stench in this place was overpowering. Kyuubi's cage had always had a little of Naruto's smell mixed with that of a foxes den, but here it smelled of blood and death.

Drip…

Another low groan escaped him before he spoke again "Any idea what happened baka fur ball?"

"**You got caught."** Kyuubi responded sarcastically.

Ever since Naruto's wound at the valley of the end with Sasuke Kyuubi has been able to speak to Naruto through his mind. At first waking up in the hospital this was a big surprise. The seal had been weakened from the extreme use of chakra and the wounds he had taken, but luckily the seal didn't continue to weaken. The two had grown to one another, though they would never admit it, and had become rather close over the years.

"Well no shit. Remember what happened?"

"**You wore all our chakra out sparing with that girl you are so infatuated with…"**

"I am not."

Kyuubi mentally rolled his eyes at the boy. "**ANYWAY, you two were attacked and you jumped in the way of blast for the girl with the white eyes…"**

"Lavender. Her eyes are pale lavender and you know her name is Hinata." The two had been training partners for a while now. After Naruto caught her training early one morning and decided to train along side of her, since then the both of them had just been meeting at the same spot every morning.

"**Thank you."**

"Huh?" Naruto was confused. "For what?"

"**For proving my point, you obviously want her. Just claim her and mate her."**

If Naruto would have been drinking something at that moment it would have sprayed across everywhere in front of him. It was true that he had fallen for the Hyuuga heiress, but he believed she could never love him. "DUMBASS PERVERTED FOX! Just tell me what happened."

"**She was knocked unconscious and you jumped in the way of a blast coming at her. You were knocked out immediately afterwards and I believe they left her there, still alive."**

"How do you know?"

"**Just because you were knocked out by such a pathetic attack doesn't meant I was. I could still sense things outside your body and I didn't have her scent as we traveled."**

"Who attacked us anyway?"

Before Kyuubi could answer him Naruto heard the door to the chamber he was in open. Naruto opened his eyes and for the first time took in his surroundings. He was in a square room. The walls seemed to have blood scattered on the wall. Around him were tables full of ancient looking jutsu books and medical instruments. He was in the center of the room on a large metal table. Metal shackles on his arms and legs had him pinned down and a metal collar around his neck had a chain going through the back of the table that held his head down.

Naruto eyes immediately glared when his eyes took in the figure smiling at him from the door. The man's glasses glinted in the light and his silver hair was longer then what Naruto remembered. The young traitor whose healing skills were only beaten by Tsunade herself, fighting skill near that of the Jounin's of Konoha, and an overall asshole.

"Kabuto" Naruto snarled.

"My my Naruto-kun, how are you feeling?" Kabuto said smiling as he walked into the room over to one of the tables next to Naruto.

"Oh just dandy Kabuto. Tell me, just how far have you managed to shove your head up Orochimaru's ass over the years?" Naruto spoke still glaring into Kabuto's eyes.

"Still the comedian I see." Un phased by Naruto's speaking. He leaned over Naruto face. "I wonder, how far have you gotten with that little Hyuuga girl?"

Naruto immediately struggled against the chains he strapped into. Trying his hardest to rip into Kabuto. His eyes flicked red a little.

"I wonder if she survived?" Kabuto continued still smiling.

"If she didn't, I guarantee you will regret it." Naruto snarled.

"Ohhh? I wonder if you will be so uppity after Orochimaru-sama's little experiment." Kabuto had a smile on his face as Naruto's look changed from anger to a little worry.

"What are you going to do?" Naruto questioned.

"Oh that is all up to Orochimaru-sama. I don't think it will be pleasant, considering how you saved your precious Sasuke from him months ago." This was a bit of an understatement from Kabuto. In truth Orochimaru was furious that he had lost his next container and was forced into another body. Naruto, with the rest of the rookie nine and Gai's team, had managed to find out where Sasuke was and get to him. He didn't go without a fight, but when he was returned to Konoha Tsunade and a seal specialist from Hidden Sand had figured a way to remove his curse seal, returning him to his old broody self.

Footsteps were head coming down the hall to the room Naruto was located in. He prayed that it wasn't Orochimaru coming, but they went unanswered as the legendary snake sannin and traitor to Konoha entered the room with evil smile on his face looking at Naruto.

"You have cost me a lot dear boy." Orochimaru spoke as he neared the table Naruto was shackled too. "And I intend to get my worth out of you." His long tongue licked his lips.

"What are you going to do?" Naruto spoke determined, but there was a slight bit of fear behind his voice.

"Ku ku ku. After I am finished with you, you will be calling me master and you…will be my new pet." Orochimaru leaned in front of Naruto.

Naruto spit in disgust into Orochimaru's face. "I WILL NEVER serve someone like you. That's a promise."

A needle was injected into Naruto's skin making him slightly dizzy. His senses were out of whack as he couldn't seem to hear anything and could barely see straight. He only barely realized his shirt was ripped off of him and that Orochimaru was staring at his seal, while Kabuto was next to Naruto's head. The two going through hand seals Naruto could barely see them all. Naruto had no idea what was going on, but Kyuubi did.

'**Oh shit…'**

Naruto's dizzy world immediately vanished. It turned into pain, unrelenting pain in the seal, his body, and in his mind. The world went black.

XxXxXxX

"NOOOOOO" she yelled.

Hinata awoke with a start in a cold sweat and breathing heavily. She had seen a horrible nightmare of Naruto being captured by Orochimaru. It all ended quickly when she felt the pain that was delivered to Naruto. Slowly Hinata started to take in her surroundings.

'The hospital?' she thought after she noticed the room she was inside of. Slowly everything started to come back to her and the fight that her and Naruto had fought against elite sound ninjas. Both of them were at the brink of chakra exhaustion before the fight even started from training with each other. They had never imagined that the sound nin's would be able to sneak that far in and surprise them. Nevertheless the battle was long and hard fought, but they had left her unconscious and taken Naruto.

Tsunade burst through the hospital door. She had run as fast as she could after hearing Hinata awake with a scream and was the first person to make it. "Hinata! What happened?"

Hinata started crying and buried her head into her hands. Tsunade was next to her in an instant trying to comfort her as other people she knew came into the room from the waiting area. After about two minutes she had calmed down enough to speak again.

"Hinata what happened? Where is Naruto?" Tsunade asked again calmly.

"They took him…" Hinata said with slow tears making their way down her cheeks.

"Who?" Tsunade needed to know who exactly got Naruto with all of his enemies.

"Orochimaru has him…" she spoke slowly.

Everyone in the room gasped at that news. It was hard to believe that something like that could happen to Naruto, but they knew how big of grudge was now held against Naruto for freeing Sasuke.

"GET ME UCHIHA SASUKE!" Tsunade roared.

"Hai" Shizune spoke before she puffed out of the room.

"Hinata" Tsunade spoke as she spun around to face the girl. "Tell me everything."

So that's what she did. She told them about the training they were doing, when they were attacked, and even told Tsunade about the dream. Tsunade was really praying that what Hinata had seen wasn't a vision, but she knew it was too detailed not to be true. Their conversation ended when Sasuke burst into the room.

"What happened to Naruto!" He yelled as he entered.

The situation and the dream was explained once again now to the Uchiha boy whose seemed to pale every time a word was spoken. His legs buckled beneath him and he leaned his back against the wall.

"Sasuke what's wrong? Do you know where Naruto is?" This time Sakura spoke.

"Yeah. Yeah I do…" Sasuke looked up into Tsunade's eyes. "The place she described is a one of kind place for Orochimaru."

"What do you mean?" She questioned.

"It's…It's his experimentation lab…it's where he…makes his monstrosities…" Sasuke finished.

Tsunade was now wide eyed at the prospect of Naruto being changed to Orochimaru's will. "How long will it take to reach?" It wasn't so much a question as it was a demand.

"About two weeks our fastest speed. He wanted it far from Konoha so that it would never be found." Sasuke spoke as he got up and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Kiba asked from next to Hinata's bed.

Sasuke spun around with a look of determination in his eyes. "Same place you all should be going. Go get you stuff together and grab your teammates we leave in fifteen minutes. Meet me at the gate."

Every ninja in the room immediately vanished to get their respective team and items needed. Fifteen minutes later they stood at the main gate. All of the rookie nine with Gai's team and their sensei's, along with Jaraiya headed out the gate leaving Tsunade to wish she could just drop the job of being Hokage and go with them.

XxXxXxX

Kabuto looked on at the body in the cell. It was completely exhausted and sleeping in a dark corner with a metal shackle around his neck keeping him connected to the wall. Slowly the figure seemed to awaken.

'He isn't even human anymore…' Kabuto thought.

Two blue slited eyes opened and met with Kabuto's. Instantly an instinctual fear was in the eyes as it backed into the dark corner of the cell he was now in. Kabuto only looked on humorously.

"W-where am I?" It slowly spoke to him from the darkness of its hiding spot.

Kabuto remained silent.

"Who are you?" it asked

Kabuto again remained silent.

The eyes took on a confused expression and darted around in different directions as if looking for a sign. Finally it had one more question to ask.

"Who am I?" It asked.

Kabuto chuckled a little and walked away from the cell.


	2. Instinct

Kitsune Memories

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Instinct

The way he held himself as he walked down the row's of cells stated one thing to everyone watching him. Kabuto was not pleased. Actually that was understatement.

Kabuto was pissed.

'_This is your fault Kabuto. You know better than to disappoint me.'_

The words Orochimaru spoke to him were still fresh in his head no matter how many days ago they were stated. He had yet to be punished, but he knew it would be far from pleasant when it came to Orochimaru. He knew that he had done the amnesia jutsu perfectly, and the loss of memory proved it, but it wasn't as simple as that.

He glanced back behind him at the body he was dragging by a chain. The chain connected to the collar of the body was allowing him to drag the bloody body back towards its cell. It was breathing erratically, likely from loss of air due to the collar being pulled like it was.

The fact that the creature was too tired, starved, and sore was preventing it from trying to walk upright or adjust itself for easier breathing. Instead he just let himself be dragged across the hard, and sometimes sharp, cobbles stones that floored the prison he was in. Blood was smeared across the floor he had been dragged across.

While Kabuto took pleasure in the suffering of his latest patient, it was already growing tedious after two days. He had been at it for two days and had no results as of yet for his master. He had only one theory, but he knew his master wouldn't like it. If that was the case, he would be the one to suffer.

The anger consuming him once again Kabuto turned around quickly and marched to the body. Pulling back his leg he launched a kick into its abdomen, launching it into one of the bars of another cell. "Why won't you just submit demon!" he yelled as he kicked the body again.

To his surprised the head on the ground raised slowly and obviously with a great amount of effort too look Kabuto in the eyes. Spitting some blood onto the floor it grinned a little. The sight of the blood leaking from his mouth and the stains on his gums and teeth were more than unnerving for Kabuto. He took a step back when the demon responded to him.

"Instinct." Was the only word it spoke.

Kabuto enraged at the answer given kicked the demon in the head. The head snapped back into the cell bar he was lying against, knocking it unconscious and letting some blood leak from the back of his skull.

His anger receding Kabuto picked up the chain again and started the way back to the cell again. The answer was the exact one Kabuto had been thinking of the whole time. He knew what the demon was saying to be true. A demon would not serve a human, especially not ones as prideful as the Kitsune breed, even if it was only half Kitsune.

"Instincts….I will break them for Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto spoke quietly before he threw the unconscious Kitsune half-breed against the wall in the back of his cell. He quickly locked the cell and left, wanting to get started on plans for trying to break the demon tomorrow.

XxXxXxXxX

-In the Cell-

_There she was. She was standing there looking directly at him. He considered her an angel. She stood there with a soft smile that seemed to hold an infinite amount of caring. She had creamy white skin that contrasted perfectly with her deep indigo hair. The hair went down in between her shoulder blades, as two bangs framed her face. Her eyes distinguished her the most to him. They had no pupils and were a light shade of lavender. The eyes seemed like read exactly what he was thinking they could see directly into his soul, as if they could see directly into his soul. They drew him in._

_She had her arms outstretched towards him. She wanted him to come to her. He could tell she was saying something, but he couldn't hear it. All he could see was her lips moving as if trying to call out to him. He started to be able to hear the words…_

His eyes opened slowly as he looked around the cell he was in. 'Damn…' he thought as he realized where was.

He had been hoping to hear what the girl in his dreams had been saying. He just didn't understand why he would be dreaming about this girl, unless she was very important to him. The same dream had been repeating every time he was asleep or unconscious. Then again, he couldn't exactly say how long he has been dreaming about the girl or if he even knew the girl for that matter, since he could only remember about three days.

'_Yeah three days of hell_' he thought sarcastically about his whole situation.

XxXxXxXxX

-Flashback-

To say he was confused would be a bit of an understatement at the moment. To be completely honest, he had not idea what the hell was going on. He couldn't remember anything, and the harder he tried the more painful a headache he started to feel in the back of his skull. All he knew was that he was here in a cage, with a large metal collar attached to his neck that was in place attached to a chain in the wall, effectively keeping him from moving too much.

He looked up and saw a man with white hair and glasses looking directly at him. To be honest he was a little afraid of the man. He was chained up, apparently at his will, and was just looking at him eerily. Knowing the only way to figure things out would be too ask some questions he began.

"W-where am I?" he asked.

No response. He just stood there looking at him.

"Who are you?"

At this moment, even though there was no response, he realized something very important about what was happening. 'Who the hell am I?!' he thought. This was something that he should know right? How could he not know his own name?

"Who am I?" he asked uncertain if he would get an answer, but hoping maybe the man would know. To his surprised the man just chuckled and walked away.

'_Well that was pleasant_…._asshole…' _

He let out a large sigh and thought some more about his predicament. '_How did I get here? This just doesn't make any sense, how was I caught?'_ He was brought out of his thoughts when a long distance away he could hear two pairs of footsteps coming from down the hall. He could also hear them talking though it was a great distance.

"So he is unaware of who he is?" He couldn't recognize the voice, but something about him brought both a chill and sense of hatred to him. He couldn't understand it.

"Hai Orochimaru-sama. It seems everything was a complete success." This voice seemed to match that of the man that chuckled at him a little while ago. He must of gone to get the other man.

"Kukuku. I wonder how Konoha will like him being used against them like this."

'_Konoha? Hmm what the hell is Konoha?' _he thought to himself after this statement. Then he came to another startling realization. His fear of the situation changed and he became increasingly angry as an instinct seemed to kick in. '_use me…they want to use me...but he also said used against them. Does that mean I was a tool for this Konoha?'_

Kabuto and Orochimaru came directly into view and looked into the cage. They could see the Kitsune boy with his back against the wall and his head looking down. His face was covered in shadows, but the way he was flexing his hands showed he was likely awake.

"I see you are up."

Looking up he saw the man for the first time. He had long greasy looking black hair, his skin was pale and sickly looking, but the thing that stood out the most was his eyes. They looked like that of a snake. This was Orochimaru.

"Who am I?" His expression didn't change at all as he asked the question to the person standing outside the cell.

"Kukuku. I am your new master and you will help me in my goals." Orochimaru responded.

The boy in the cell once again looked down towards the ground. Apparently disappointed in the answer he received. "You didn't answer my question."

Orochimaru smirked a little bit at this. "You are my pet."

The head shot up with fury behind red slitted eyes. He looked menacingly at Orochimaru. Since he couldn't exactly get through the bars, or even close to them with the chain he was attached too, he settled with spitting directly into the face of the man from several feet away. His chakra flared and a red aura was whipping all around him in random directions.

His instincts had kicked in. He had too much honor, respect, and pride to do something such as that. There was no way in hell he would ever be considered a pet to anyone. How could someone ever consider someone like him a pet? There was also a feeling that told him, that he would NEVER serve this man.

"**Let's get one thing straight, you disgusting snake. I will never be considered a pet to anyone. I am the only ruler of myself. And while I may not remember much, something is telling me deep inside that I will never served you."** He growled out.

Slowly exhaustion seemed to be coming back to meet him for a second visit. Orochimaru watched in anger as the youth's eyes returned to their original color and he slowly fell to his side asleep.

After he had woken up again, he really wished he hadn't. He was no longer in his dark, little, damp cell. No, now he was in a very large room apparently hanging in mid air. Chains attached to different parts of his body kept him suspended. In front of him seemed to be a throne. On that throne sat Orochimaru, looking at him menacingly. Kabuto was standing too the side of the throne, there was a small table with a number of different medical instruments. He was brought out of his observing when Orochimaru spoke.

"You have said you will not be my pet." He spoke with venom at the now suspended youth. He watched as the eyes flashed red for a second and an angry glare was sent his way. He only smirked. "So I have decided that you will either serve me….or starve to death."

Orochimaru got up off his throne and started to walk away. "You haven't eaten in I would say two and a half weeks considering the trip it took for them to get here. You should last a few more weeks." Orochimaru opened the door to exit, but before he did he turned around and looked in the eyes of prisoner. "But it will not be a pleasant few weeks." Before walking out.

A soft chuckle caught his ears, turning his gaze from the man that just walked out of the room. Turning his head he looked at Kabuto wheeling the table that had the different instruments on it into a path directly in front of him. He watched as Kabuto lazily pulled out a Kunai from his pouch and started spinning it by the loop hole on his finger.

"It seems that I get to have some fun. I have so been looking forward to this."

Without warning he threw the kunai into the suspended boys left thigh. He winced at the pain, but didn't scream out. He was breathing hard at the pain in his leg, but he kept his eyes focused on Kabuto's. Kabuto slowly walked up to the kunai and pulled it out.

"I have so been interested in your healing abilities." He had a evil grin as he spoke.

'_Healing abilities?'_ was the only thought that ran through the prisoners head.

"Hmm let's see." With that Kabuto took the kunai and slashed it horizontally across the demon's chest. The cut wasn't deep, but blood was flowing steadily down his body from the wound. The pain was much worse than in the thigh, he almost let out a cry of pain, but he didn't want to do that in front of these bastards.

XxXxXxXxX

-Flashback end-

That how it had been for the past couple days now. They hadn't fed him once and he was feeling the hunger. He hadn't noticed it when he first woke up, but it was haunting him now. He could practically feel his muscles start to eat away at themselves. It was maddening.

Then the torture was getting worse. That is if you could call it torture. Technically torture was usually used to get information out of someone. This however was just pure pain and no questions. The only thing that would happen is to see if he would now serve the snake bastard. The first day started as just hits and cuts along his entire body.

He didn't quite understand why, but his body was healing at a quick rate. It was as if something was constantly healing him, but he just didn't understand what it could possibly be. He knew it was keeping him alive though. The pain and blood loss that he was going through was easily fatal to those of weaker stature. He seemed to be able to recover fairly quickly from yesterday's assault, but that just led him into this morning's assault.

This morning he was once again awakened from his pleasant dream of the lavender eyed girl and brought to the same chamber as before. He couldn't put up a struggle do the weakness he was currently in, but he was sure to throw a few choice curse words directed at the mother of the bastards dragging him. When he was hung up he was surprised to see Kabuto walk up to him with nothing in his hands. Instead his hand started to glow and he started severing muscles inside the body.

He had never felt such pain before, the pain of muscle just being simply cut to pieces by chakra, the pain was too much. He passed out a number of time, and instead of crying out in pain settled for just screaming insults at Kabuto, swearing revenge. Kabuto described the technique as a chakra scalpel. The cuts were fine and deep into his tissue, but he was careful not to cause anything fatal.

The memory from what Kabuto had done sent a small shiver to his spine. He was beginning to wonder what he had done to deserve this. Was he maybe some kind of criminal? No that wouldn't explain why the wanted to use him. Was he just some kind of weapon to be used to peoples will? While he would admit his body seemed well trained, he just seemed to doubt in his heart that he was cold killing machine.

'_No angel like that would be holding her arms out to a cold killing machine'_ he thought of the girl in his dreams. He desperately wanted to find out who she was and knew he would do anything to find her. But he was starting to get worried about surviving that long.

He knew that without food he wouldn't last a few more weeks and every day was promised to be worse than the before. He would need to try and do something before he got too weak, but he knew that he had to wait for just the right moment to do anything. He could tell the two that were attacking him were strong, he could sense their strength, but he knew that he was strong also.

'_I will get out of here, and I will find her. I swear it.'_ After that thought he did the one thing that seemed to be able to comfort him. He fell asleep into the world that girl he wanted to meet so much was.

XxXxXxXxX

-Hinata-

It had only been three days since they had taken off. She was packing quickly to leave the camp this morning. She didn't want to stop at all last night, but as Sasuke had stated. "_We will need to be in top shape if we want to rescue him, so we will need to rest some.´_ They hadn't stopped the day before that, but she still didn't want to stop now. Her only thought was in getting to Naruto.

That wasn't the only thing that was troubling her though. Every time she had been sleeping she was having them. She was having visions, though she would classify them as night mares. She was watching every instance through the eyes of her crush. It was horrible every time she feel asleep she saw it. He would be hanging in the air and the man she knew as Kabuto would just attack him. It was getting worse every minute as she watched. Kabuto's anger would just rise at her crush and he would start hurting him more and more.

If he was sleeping when she would enter he own sleep, then the only vision she would see is of a fox. The fox seemed to be skittish at the situation it was in. The fox would be in a corner chained. When a snake came and offered it freedom in exchange for becoming loyal to snake. The fox was afraid, but its pride would never allow it to submit to servitude. Hinata had no idea what the dream meant, but she had a small idea. She thought that it was some omen about the Kyuubi.

She had known about the Kyuubi longer than anyone else in Naruto's group of friends. She considered it a gift from heaven the day he told her first before anyone else. She told him that he was himself, not a demon. She was slightly taken aback at first, but she knew what he said was true. Naruto with all his quirks and flaws was no demon.

That didn't keep her from starting to hate many people from her own village. Every person she saw after the confession that glared at Naruto she kept a mental note on for the future. She would not enter restaurants, shop at certain stores, or even talk to certain people anymore because of their attitude towards him. This of course caused a great deal of shock when the Hyuuga heir herself started to refuse service from certain stores. While it did open some eyes to how they should treat the boy, some just thought that she was foolish for what she was doing. But it wasn't fair for them to judge him as the demon fox, it just wasn't true. If people would take the time to get to know him like she did, then there would be no issues at all. Some would rather see him dead, than in their own village.

And here she was trying desperately to save his life. Packing the last of her things she walked over to the spot she in the center of the camp waiting for the rest to finish before they could leave. One by one they all showed up. Finally Sasuke spoke.

"Ok, our speed cut down about a day and half so far. We can keep this up, but I personally want to go faster. If you can't keep up inform me so I can slow down. Ready?"

A loud "HAI" was heard from everyone present. They all vanished in a blur racing towards the location of the one they desperately wanted to recue.


	3. Promise

Kitsune Memories

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Promise

Yakushi Kabuto was a brave man. In fact he was only scared of one person in the world. The man he bowed down too had instilled fear in him that none could even begin to comprehend. And even though he server Orochimaru faithfully he was never awarded any praise from his master. He knew he was being used, but what could he do about it?

He knew Orochimaru's strength, he knew what the man was capable of, and while this might seem like the most dangerous person for him to be around, he also knew that in the future that being the right hand man of the most powerful man in the world would have its benefits. While he might be disrespected now by Orochimaru, he was feared and followed by all of those ranked lower than him, and it would be the same thing once they succeeding in destroying Konoha. The only difference would be that it would be the world bowing before him and his master, not just some sound shinobi.

His strength was unquestioned amongst the ranks of sound. He could match up with the legendary copy nin Kakashi, fought against the likes of the legendary sannin, and was powerful enough to be considered number two amongst the ranks of the sound. He had never backed down from any challenge given to him, whether preparing a feast of innocent people for Manda, experimenting with bodies to make the ultimate tool, or even doing missions that were considered suicide. But for all of his bravery and courage, it was all sapped away by the look being given to him by the young man hanging in the air just in front of him.

Kabuto knew he had nothing to fear. An Iron shackle was holding each limb stretched away from his body. The body suspended in air like a rag doll. He had been tortured for almost two weeks now and not had food in almost double that amount of time. He was a medic that rivaled that of Tsunade; he knew the body just couldn't take the amount of punishment it was being given. Observing his deeds on the body he could help but be in a little bit of awe at his stubbornness. His thigh had holes in it, which were quickly healing up, from where he had driven screws into the leg. His left arm was broken; a smart ass remark had earned him that one. Bruises and cuts were all over his body, when stress started to get to him the boy made an excellent punching bag.

But he was still deathly afraid for the first time in a long time. He could barely see them. The boys head was downcast the shadows covering his eyes…but he could still them. Red eyes were shining through the shadows, red that was dark and crimson as the blood that slowly dripped off the body in a small puddle on the ground. The killing intent was the most he had ever felt, almost enough to cause him to want to end his own life just to get away.

"**What did you say." **

It wasn't a question, it was a demand. A simple and incredibly difficult question to answer at the same time. He knew the answer, he knew what he said, but should he possibly invoke the wrath of this man? Or should he feign ignorance, further risking his wrath and hope for the best? He needed to gain his cool, he needed to calm down and answer. He took several deep breaths to relax, but he could still feel those bloodthirsty eyes on himself.

"I said. "I wonder if that bitch you were with survived."". He spoke as calmly as he could. He originally spoke it to see if he would get some reaction to the girl. He had noticed them both being together when they first attacked to capture him. He might have been able to infuriate the boy, but he had never expected this, and was instantly regretting what he had said.

"**Tell me, what she looked like."**

Those damn eyes. They never blinked, not even once in the long minutes he had been staring into them. The bore into his soul making him fear for his life. "S-she.." damn a stutter, that was something he never did. How the hell could he show his fear? " had dark blue hair and pupil less eyes. White I think, but I did…"

"**Lavender."**

"What?"

"**Her eyes are lavender."** It stated it as if it was something that he should have known. That it was a direct insult to his very being that he didn't know the color of her eyes.

'_He remembers the Hyuuga girl?'_ Kabuto thought instantly. '_Is he slowly regaining his memory?'_

"You remember her?"

"**Only in dreams insect."**

Kabuto slightly smirked, feeling better than he had a few moments ago. Now he had something on the fox demon. Something to use as an advantage.

"I wonder if she did survive, when we left her she was on the brink of death. Hinata I believe her name was."

He smirked as red eyes disappeared beneath hair as the head lowered to look directly at the floor. He was right; this was the leverage he needed for the mental torture he would put him through. His last few days alive would be worse than before, breaking the mind was so much more fun after all.

Kabuto's eyes widened when the eyes looked back at him again. The killing intent that had all but vanished from before multiplied beyond before. The red eyes stared directly at him with wide angered eyes. He felt his knees begin to feel weak, like they would buckle under his legs at any moments if he didn't get away from this.

"**I swear…" ** At this he cocked his head to the side a little bit. The face was still covered mostly in shadow, but he could now make out a sinister grin along with the red eyes still in the shadow. "**That before I leave this place, dieing or escaping, that I will kill you for what you have done."**

Kabuto collapsed to his knees. He knew demon oaths; they would go through them no matter what. It was their code. Now Kabuto was marked by this demon in front of him to die. Kabuto was happy to see the red eyes widen with surprise and blood trickle out of the mouth. The blond was looking down at his stomach in surprise.

Kabuto could see something sticking out of the boys gut. Leaning his body around to look behind the prisoner he let out a breath of relief he hadn't realized he was holding when he saw Orochimaru there with the legendary sword Kusanagi sticking through the demon. Orochimaru was breathing a little heavy and was sweating a little. The massive killing intent apparently having affected even him. Orochimaru withdrew the blade and slammed the hilt into the back of the blonds head. The killing aura died immediately when he went unconscious.

'Take him to the throne room side cell and keep him there. Then come back to me." He commanded immediately and walked off still breathing hard.

Kabuto took a few moments to compose his nerves, but didn't want to wait too long, lest the prisoner re awake. In his mind he questioned why Orochimaru would want to stick him in the cell directly connected to the throne room through a wall, but thought nothing of it. He deposited the body in the cell and locked the door. He quickly made his way to the throne room to see Orochimaru sitting on the throne.

"We will have guests shortly."

Kabuto's eyes widened in surprise. '_Konoha found us this fast?...of course Sasuke.'_

"Then why, if I may ask Orochimaru-sama, are we still here?"

Orochimaru let loose a smile so sinister it almost matched the one he had seen not too long ago. "I want them to see what has become of their next _Hokage_".

XxXxXxXxX

-Hinata-

"Hinata"

She tried to keep asleep. She needed to know what was happening to him. She had to share his pain.

"Hinata wake up."

She was being shaken at the shoulders now. She knew there would be no going back to sleep now. Slowly she opened her eyes, it was blurry to her. Quickly she wiped away the tears she had in her eyes to get a better view. Kneeling next to her was Kurenai.

"Hinata come with me."

Hinata nodded wordlessly and got out of her sleeping bag. After quickly changing clothes she left the tent and headed for the direction Kurenai left in. Sitting in a small clearing with a small fire going were all the sensei's of the teams and Jaraiya.

"Sit down Hinata." Kurenai spoke with a small smile to the nervous girl, clearly wanting to calm her nerves. Hinata calmly walked over to the fire and sat down in the circle. All the Jounin watching her.

"Hinata you've been crying every night in your sleep since we've left." Hinata's eyes widened a little bit at this. "You have also been talking in your sleep some…well not really talking as much as crying out in pain."

Hinata looked straight down at the ground, tears starting to well at her eyes again. She took a moment to gather her thoughts. "I-I see through him in my dreams…I see what they are doing to him." She looked up in tears at the surprised faces of all the sensei. "THEY'RE KILLING HIM." She yelled out.

"In all the times I have seen in my dreams, not once has he been given any sort of food. They are starving him to death, giving him only water to make sure he dies from the longer pains of hunger. His time conscious is spent only being tortured for their sick fun. He's been cut, hit, stabbed, electrocuted, and too many other things to list. When he is sleeping I see a dream of a snake offering something to a fox in a corner, but the fox refuses on his pride."

Everyone looked at her in surprise. They were expecting her to have some nightmares about Naruto, but they weren't expecting her to be seeing through him at all the events happening. It honestly shocked most of them that her bond with the boy could be so deep when they weren't even dating. She had the bond of a wife to husband.

"I-I don't know what just happened when you woke me." Her breathing was ragged as she spoke. She was having great difficulty trying to express what she had seen. "Kabuto was looking at him like a scared child, but he just kept his level gaze. Then he felt something. He looked down and sticking out of his stomach from behind was Kusanagi."

The teachers looked stunned. If what she was saying was true then Naruto will have been without food for almost 4 weeks. He needed food in the next couple days or he would die. Luckily they were only one more day away. There would be no rest now, and they were leaving now.

"Get everyone up, we are going now." Kakashi stated with fierce authority.

XxXxXxXxX

_There she was again, a younger her, but it was still her. He couldn't help but be incredibly angry at the situation in front of him. He watched her trying her hardest, giving off blow after blow. But she was still getting hurt. Hurt badly._

_He could only see the back of the one attacking her, but he had long black hair in a pony tail. Bandages were wrapped around his arm and he had tan clothing on. He still could not see his face._

_He watched as she coughed out blood onto the floor. Then she said something to infuriate her opponent. The opponent was caught by a number of people. One with spiky grey hair that stuck off to one side and a forehead protector was over his right eye. Another was woman with long black hair and red eyes. There was also a man with spiky brown hair and a beard smoking a cigarette. Then there was a man in green suit with the shiniest teethe he had ever seen._

_But he could only watch as she fell to the floor. Seemingly lifeless onto her back. He jumped down to her as the medics carried her away. As he watched her walk away he turned around and saw the face of the man that had done this too her. He would remember that face. Those white eyes._

He woke up with a start. This was the first different dream he had. It angered him so much to see that girl getting beaten like she was. He was serious as his eyes flicked from blue to red. He tried to move around, but a sharp pain in his left arm had him thinking against that, there was also a pain in his stomach. He looked at his left arm to see quite plainly that it was broken. He saw that he had been stabbed through in his stomach. Looked like it didn't hit any vital organs luckily, but it still hurt like bitch. The pain in his mind still reeling from the earlier events, but he had one thing to smile about.

"Hinata." He smiled as he said it. The bastard Kabuto had let the name slip in his conversation. He now knew the name of the girl in his dreams, maybe which would explain the different dream now.

The dream angered him beyond reason. The boy in the dream that beat her to the brink of death. And judging by the way they looked they were family. And while he couldn't remember much, he still knew family was something that was supposed to be treasure.

Looking around he noticed that he was in a different cell than he was in before. He also noticed that he wasn't chained to the wall this time. Apparently Kabuto had been in too much of a rush or just too frightened to remember. He walked around the room observing where he was. It felt good to finally be able to stretch his legs and walk around some, but he still felt weak while he was doing. His stomach growled loudly in protest to the extra work his body was doing with the nutrients required to do so.

Suddenly his ears picked up on something. He walked over to the wall and tried to listen to the conversation on the other side. He was getting close to hearing what was said when the wall itself started to open up.

XxXxXxXxX

-Hinata-

They ran as silently as they could through the dark hallways. Candles placed on the sides of the walls hardly providing any real source of light along the dark hallway. They had finally made it to the lair, easily dispatching the guards outside and the few they had encountered inside. It seemed that this place was absolutely secret so few guards were kept.

Kiba suddenly stopped at the front of the group. He knelt down to the ground and touched something on the ground. Everyone looked over his shoulder and gasped in surprise to see it was smears of blood from a body being dragged across the ground. Kiba sniffed at the blood some,

"It's Naruto's, but it smells a little off." He paused for a moment and then shook off the chilling feeling he was having. "This way everyone."

He took off into a sprint again, everyone close on his heels. They ran along the hallways until they finally came to a large double door. Pushing on it they found it to be locked.

"Everyone back." Jaraiya yelled out as swirling ball of blue chakra gathered in his hand. "Rasengan!" as he charged the door blowing it into pieces and effectively covering the small area in a dust cloud. The entire group ran inside.

Suddenly everyone froze on the ground. No one could move, looking down they saw the dust from the explosion had covered a seal that they couldn't see on the ground. They were all trapped.

"Ku ku ku…It seems you have lead them here Sasuke-kun." Everyone looked up to see Orochimaru sitting on his throne leaning back with his head leaning on his upright fist. The snake sannin seemed to have a small bead of sweat forming on his forhead.

'_He is supplying chakra to the seal, he has to focus to keep it going.'_ Jaraiya thought.

"Where is Naruto bastard!" Sasuke yelled out while sending a death glare straight at him.

"That's no way to treat your old master Sasuke-kun." Spoke Kabuto as he stepped out from behind a pillar near the wall to their right. Kakashi scowled directly at Kabuto. The two of them still had a score to settle.

"Shut up." Sasuke yelled again.

"Oh Orochimaru-sama they tried so hard to get here, shouldn't we at least show him to them?" The snake grinned sinisterly as he nodded his head in agreement with Kabuto.

Reveling in the feeling of showing them the changed form of the chained up boy they had come to hope rescue he walked over to a panel in the wall. He quickly pulled down the lever and turned around to watch the faces of the Konoha nins as the wall behind him opened up.

As soon as the door opened up Kabuto felt something and heard something. He heard the sound of flesh being ripped apart. Looking down at where he had a funny feeling his eyes widened in shock to see a bloody clawed right hand sticking through his chest where his heart should be.

"I always carry out my promises." He heard said behind him before Kabuto felt life slip from his grasp.


	4. Revenge

Kitsune Memories

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Revenge

They knew things were bad when they found out they had all walked into a trap, but now they were terrified. When Kabuto and Orochimaru were talking about showing something to them they narrowed their eyes in anticipation. However their eyes immediately went wide from shock when a spray of blood went across the floor as an arm tore its way into the body of Kabuto.

Kakashi stood shocked. He knew Kabuto was strong, but he was also arrogant, a weakness that often plagued those with power. He still though never imagined that he would see Kabuto die so suddenly and without warning in front of him. It was a blessing and a curse. Now Kabuto was out of the picture, but still what had done this to him.

They couldn't quite see anything behind Kabuto body. They could feel it though. An ever growing killer intent was starting to flood the room. It was almost suffocating. But it was all directed at one person. They looked towards Orochimaru to see his face contorted in a mixture of anger and surprise. This was obviously not in their plans.

They gasped a little bit when the hand pulled back out of the body and Kabuto's lifeless corpse collapsed onto the floor. They couldn't make anything out in the shadows of the cage except for two crimson colored eyes filled with hate. It wasn't looking towards them, but straight at Orochimaru.

XxXxXxXxX

-Naruto-

He was surprised when the wall in front of him started to open up. While he was enjoying the feeling of walking around for the first time in weeks, the sight on the other side of the wall pleased him even more. There was the one he had promised to kill, the one who had likely killed her, with his unprotected back to him.

His eyes flickered in color. Gone were the blue eyes that didn't even realize he had, replaced by those crimson colored eyes. This was the chance he had been waiting for. The anger in him that had been built up over the past weeks was ready to come out.

He pulled his right arm back and shot it forward into the chest. His sharp claw like nails making quick work of the flesh and bone meant to protect his body. Blood sprayed out of the newly made hole onto his face and over the floor. He was covered in the blood of his victim, but it didn't matter, he had his prize.

"**I always keep my promises."** Naruto spoke to him. He pulled his arm out of the new hole in Kabuto's body and let the corpse fall to the floor. His senses knew where to look; he knew what he wanted. He saw his next target standing there looking towards him with hate and surprise in his eyes.

The blood lust was rushing in to him. The need for revenge for how they had treated him, for what they did to him, and for what they did to her. His gaze was solely on one thing. That snake bastard was just on the other side of the room.

He could tell that he was strong, just from looking at him and sensing him, he could tell that Orochimaru had huge strength. That and that he was incredibly pissed to have just lost the young boy with glasses that was torturing him ruthlessly for the past weeks. He knew his left arm had healed some, but was still mostly broken. But hell, Naruto didn't care one bit. Only one thing was on his mind…revenge.

He sprint forward, ignoring the sounds that were like gasps coming from another part of the room. He would deal with anything else he had to later. His vision tunneled as he focused on the only other person he considered noteworthy in the room at the moment. His left arm hung limply at his side as he ran; only his right hand was in front of him.

The eyes of the snake widened in surprise at his speed. He could only grin as he got closer and closer, the need for revenge far outweighing the strain on his already weakened body. Ten feet away he leapt up into the air and pulled his arm back to rip out the throat of the snake.

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes as Naruto flew in the air towards him. Using the opportunity the snake moved to the left to avoid the blow, not quickly enough the blow landed on his right shoulder instead of his throat. The claws dug in, trying to get a grip on the flesh and eventually the bone, then he would rip it out.

Orochimaru's left hand shot up and gripped him around the throat. Choking the life out of him, for ever squeeze Naruto did on his shoulder, Orochimaru would squeeze his throat. This continuous battle lasted only a few seconds as Orochimaru using most of his strength managed to choke him to the point of releasing the grip. Orochimaru looked around the room, greatly confusing his choking victim as to why he would lose focus, before Orochimaru looked into his eyes glaring.

"We will finish this another time Demon." He spoke quickly and threw Naruto across the room into a pillar with a sickening thud. He retreated quickly to the wall on the other side of the room.

Naruto felt himself weakening. He almost lost consciousness when his head collided with the stone pillar he was against now. He looked around slowly for Orochimaru until he managed to spot him. Slowly he got onto his feet and made his way across the floor. Orochimaru smirked as he pressed a panel. A stone door opened up behind him and he quickly went in and shut it, leaving Naruto outside hitting it furiously.

"**GET BACK HERE COWARD! I'LL KILL YOU FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE!"**

He continued to beat on the door, letting out the occasional growl or roar. But slowly he was losing his rage against the door seeing as it wouldn't even budge. He could feel the strain on his body, wanting him to just rest for a while, but he wasn't sure he would be able to get back up. '_Might as well try to escape now._' Turning around he was shocked at the sight of over a dozen ninja in front of him.

XxXxXxXxX

-Hinata-

Hinata stood in shock at what was in front of her. Everyone around them gasped when the red eyed creature leapt out of the shadows and charged at Orochimaru. She had only heard of them in legend, half demons. That's what it was in front of her…a Kitsune.

As he ran at Orochimaru she managed to see his features. Two golden fox ears rested on top of a mop of dirt and blood stained blond hair, red slit eyes like that of a fox along with his fangs, and five golden blood stained tails whipped behind him as he sprinted his way towards the snake sannin. She noticed one arm hung limp on his side, while the other held more like a claw than any form of taijutsu that she knew of.

But none of that was what shocked her. Everyone else focused on the retreating form of Orochimaru after he threw the Kitsune into the stone pillar. She winced when she head the thud of the head hitting the pillar and knew he was likely unconscious. Groggily he looked up and around the room. What shocked her were the blue eyes she knew and loved looking around before they suddenly changed back to that crimson red. '_Naruto-kun…' _

Her eyes were wide and filled with tears looking at him. She knew that he hated being called the Kyuubi himself, even though he had formed a relationship with the demon. It was something that had always haunted him. But now Orochimaru had turned him into the thing that she knew would make him hated. His injuries also frightened her. He was badly hurt; she didn't need to be a medic-nin to realize it.

He stood there beating on the door that Orochimaru escaped through for a minute. Subconsciously she stepped forward with her arm raised, simply wanting to get to him and help him. This obviously snapped everyone else out of their trance when they realized they could move. Immediately she was pushed to the back of the group by Neji and Kiba as they got in front of her and into a ready stance, not realizing who it was they were up against in their fear and worry.

XxXxXxXxX

Naruto

'_Shit he had more men.' _Naruto thought as he looked at the groups of ninja in front of him. All seemed to be in a ready stance to fight him, although they had a look of worry in their eyes. He stopped when he noticed the eyes of one in particular. '_White eyes…IT'S HIM.'_

Where the rage had all but disappeared it was not back with vengeance. Standing in front of him was the person from his dreams, the one that attacked Hinata. Of course he would work for the snake if he would harm someone as perfect as her. His eyes focused solely on him. He saw some of the weaker members of the group shudder under the killing intent now being directed at the pale eyed young man.

The pale eyed young man himself was losing his nerve. He was sweating under the killing intent and breathing heavily. His eyes went wide when the focus directed solely onto him. What the hell did he do? He flinched back a little when Naruto raised his right hand up and pointed it at him.

"**You…you're the one."**

"W-what?" Neji stuttered. If someone would have been calm enough, they might have pinched themselves when they heard Neji stutter.

"**I saw you in my dream. You hurt her."**

The boy said something, but Naruto wasn't able to make it out in his building rage. He knew he didn't have much time left before his body completely collapsed. Looking around he wouldn't be able to take them all on. But hell, for her he was going to at least get this one.

"**FOR THAT YOU WILL DIE!"**

He roared as he charged forward. The obviously frightened target back pedaled a little before stopping finally and trying to regain control of his emotions. He succeeded in that and managed to slip into a fighting stance.

When he was about halfway across the floor he sensed movement coming from above and to his right. He saw a green blur heading right towards him in mid air.

"Konoha Senpuu!" The green blur yelled as it slowed down in mid air to put power behind the kick. Naruto ducked quickly as he could to avoid the leg that looked like it could lop of his head coming at him. Not wanting to waste the opportunity of a target vulnerable in mid air, but not wanting to waste too much energy he came up with the quickest plan he could. He raised his right elbow just as he passed under the leg and slammed it in between the man's legs. Needless to say he went down quickly.

Naruto continued his path towards his target. The pale eyed boy's eyes widened in surprise when he saw the green man go down, but he quickly regained his composure in his stance.

He saw them coming this time. Two large tornados on both sides of his body coming straight at him. More annoyances were getting in his way. He had to get to him damnit!

As the two spinning tornados neared him he jumped in into the air towards one them. Not caring about the damage done to his hand he reached into the tornado as it passed under him and gripped the first thing he got his hands on. Using the momentum of the spin he flipped and planted his feet on the ground. Summoning his strength his tossed the stopped body in his hands at the other tornado. Smirking a bit when he saw the two bodies slam into a wall when one tried to catch the other.

Slowly he turned back towards the white eyed one and walked towards him. A slow walk quickly became an all out sprint as weapons began flying towards him. Every kind of weapon imaginable, but he dodged them with the grace and agility of a fox, not a single one even nicking him.

He was almost there when he felt the heat start. Far off to his side a boy with black hair and red eyes breathed in deeply as he shot a wall of fire in between Naruto and the group, trying to block him off. '_Hell it can't be too thick, and it's not like I plan on making it out.'_ Naruto thought as he covered his face with his arm and ran straight through the wall of flames.

He was pretty sure his arm's hated him at this point. One had broken; the other one cut horribly in that tornado and now burned. Now there was no one in between them now. Everyone around him seemed to back away as he changed his stance even further and though he couldn't see it, he could hear one of them struggling against the others.

He was about to reach him when the boy smirked and started to rapidly spin. Naruto could sense the energy starting to seep out. From what he could tell he was forming a wall of chakra getting stronger with each rotation. Still though Naruto didn't care he just had to make it to him.

And that was exactly what he did, his hand connected with thin wall of chakra that was starting to build up, if he hadn't hit it so early he wasn't sure he could break though. His clawed hand reached through the wall and grabbed the stunned man by the throat. The wall immediately collapsed and Naruto took off running with the boy still in his grasp. Making it to the wall he slammed his prey into it as hard as he could with one arm and held him up in the air.

"NEJI!"

He heard screamed behind him. But he didn't care, even if the name somehow nagged him at the back of his mind. The nagging could only be explained by Naruto wanting to remember the name of the person who hurt her. He could see small drops of blood starting to come out of where his finger nails were digging into the skin.

He could hear the footsteps of people rushing to attack him. If any of them got to close he would threaten to end Neji's life. He planned to kill him anyway, but he didn't want to snap the neck, he wanted it slow and painful. Make him suffer for what he did.

To his surprise he felt a hand on his left shoulder. He quickly turned his head to yell his threat, but his words caught in his throat.

"**I WILL KILL HIM…if…**if…"

There was Hinata with her hand on his shoulder with tears in her eyes. She was alright and safe. She looked completely healthy. His heart soared as he saw her. Instantly forgetting Neji he dropped him to the floor unceremoniously.

But what was she doing with them? Was she on their side? Smelling the people around him told him all he needed to know. None of them smelled like snake. He had attacked people he didn't even know. Who were they? What the hell is wrong with me?

XxXxXxXxX

Hinata stood next to him. It was hard for her to break free of Kurenai's grip, but a couple of taps to the tenketsu on Kurenai's wrist was all she needed to be able get out and over to Naruto and her cousin. He looked at Neji with absolute at in his eyes and it honestly scared her to know that he could hate someone. Naruto had always been so kind and caring to all around him. Never like this.

But now, he was looking at her with something like fear and confusion in his eyes. He didn't seem to know exactly what was going on. She was relieved when the red in his eyes faded and they returned to their blue color. She could see the weariness in his eyes, and the way he was struggling to still stand after now relaxing. Silent tears rolled down her cheeks as she looked at the wounds he had on his body.

His left arm was broken and twisted badly, while his right arm was badly bleeding and burned. There was blood in running down his face from where his head cut open when he collided with the pillar. But there was dried blood all around him, along with bruises, burn marks, cuts. The obvious signs of starvation were there, since his muscles looked to be eating away at themselves.

She had no idea how he was even able to fight like he did. The condition he was in was horrible. He had managed to avoid Gai and strike him between the legs, stopped Kiba's gatsuuga, dodged Tenten's weapons, ran through a wall of fire, and then managed to break through the Kiaten. All of that to strength in the condition he was in. What could cause him to need to get revenge that much? What girl did Neji hurt?

He collapsed onto his knees where she managed to catch him and hold him. He rested his head on her shoulder as his arms hung limply on the ground dripping blood. "I'm so glad your safe." She heard him speak before he finally slipping unconscious. That's when she realized that the whole time he was talking about her. He was talking about the chunnin exam all those years ago.

"Hinata get away!" Hinata looked up and saw most of her friends preparing attacks.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Well shorter than most of my other chapters and I don't think it had the cliff ending everyone wanted. Oh well another chapter done.

Seeing as how I got a lot of reviews for the last chapter I figured I would respond to some.

To everyone that has said how awesome this story is and how much they like it. Thanks a lot. I greatly appreciate reviews to my story; they help me really get in the mood to write more to a story.

People wondering about Naruto's looks: I didn't really describe Naruto on purpose for this chapter right here. While I have only given the basics of what he looks like (Fox ears, tails, blah blah blah), he will be described in much greater detail from Hinata's point of view next chapter. Since I haven't really given a description of the actual him yet.

Dragon Man 180: Your reviews in all of my stories are mostly sadistic…believe me I don't mind.

Nosomo: Thanks I'm glad you like Guardian also. As for Kabuto…yes I enjoy killing him. Still I felt it went best with the plot for this story. As for killing him in Guardian, hell I just wanted Kakashi to be doing something productive during that scene I guess lol. Plus Kakashi is bad ass.

AnimeMaster168: Meh too predictable. Although orochimaru isn't done with him yet.


	5. Protect

Kitsune Memories

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Protect

_When Naruto whispered into her ear how happy he was that she was ok she felt as if on air. Even in the condition that he was in he worried about her. Still though, the now unconscious young kitsune was now in her arms. It elicited a small blush from the Hyuuga girl at being able to hold his body so close to hers._

"_Hinata get away!" she heard Kiba yell._

_Hinata stared at her friends in shock. Did they not know what was going on, who it was that she was holding so desperately onto? They stood there ready to attack the unconscious man in her arms. _

_Kiba stood poised after standing back up from his collision with Akamaru, his nails extended some as he prepared to lash out the demon that had attacked them. Tenten had readied her weapons after successfully grabbing Neji and pulling the gasping Hyuuga to safety, while her teammate Rock Lee had already dropped his weights after watching his sensei go down. Ino had kunai's in both her hand as she was ready to defend against any attacks as Chouji stood next to her. _

_She was about to yell at her friends for what they were doing. Challenge if they were even truly his friend. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up in surprise to the eyes of Kakashi as he kneeled next to her. "Don't worry; I'll take care of this." His eyes curved upward to show he was smiling at the girl. His face took on a sudden serious demeanor as he stood and walked in front of the group of Konoha Nin's. The gasped in surprise as they watched him slowly slip into a defensive stance facing towards them._

"_Kakashi-sensei what are you doing?!" Ino yelled out at the Jounin who must have lost his mind._

_Two figures made their way next to him and took a similar stance next to Kakashi facing the group. Sakura had already put on her pair of fingerless gloves as she took her stance to the right of Kakashi. Sasuke stood there in relaxed stance, but with his sharingan spinning to the left of Kakashi._

"_I will not allow one of my comrades to be harmed." Kakashi spoke simply. The others gasped in surprise as realization dawned upon them of who it was they just attacked._

"_T-that's impossible…what happened to him?" Kiba started out. "He's a demon! He doesn't even have the same scent."_

"_It's just changed by the demon blood flowing through him now." Kakashi stated. His nose was as good if not better than Kiba's. One of the great advantages Kakashi always had with his summoned dogs. Kiba's eyes widened in realization as he could smell just a bare trace of Naruto's scent._

"_But how did you know it was him?" Tenten blurted out. She still hadn't lowered her weapons yet. After what he did to Neji there was no way she was going to drop her guard now._

"_When he looked at Hinata his eyes turned back to their normal color." Sasuke answered. His sharingan had caught the sight for barely a second when Naruto was looking into Hinata's. When he blew the wall of fire in between Neji and Naruto he only hoped to stop his movements. He had never expected him to just jump through the wall._

"_Why did he attack Neji?" Tenten was still on edge. To their surprise the answer actually came from behind the group defending Naruto. Not from Naruto himself or from Hinata. Jiraiya had laid Naruto on his back and was now observing Naruto with a sad look in his eyes as he looked the boy over._

"_It looks like Orochimaru fused him and Kyuubi together…" A loud gasp came from some of the shinobi in the room. "He was likely just lost in the blood lust." He concluded sadly. Everyone lost themselves in through at what Naruto had been through, and what was to come now…_

"_Sakura-chan I need your help."_

_Sakura spun around quickly at Hinata's voice, seeing Hinata kneeling down next to Naruto and scanning all the wounds on his body. Sakura instantly sped the short distance over and kneeled across from Hinata. Her eyes widened as she scanned the damage over the kitsune._

_His arm had started to heal, however it was positioned wrong since it wasn't placed in a cast or some kind of splint. His quick healing was working against him in his arm. If it fully healed in the wrong position it would lose most of its functionality. She looked into Hinata's eyes and saw Hinata nod back as they knew what needed to be done. _

_There was a sickening crack as Sakura broke the bones in his arm again. Working quickly she wrapped the arm up as best she could until they could get somewhere better to treat the wound. She continued to scan his wounds. His right arm was in awful shape. The wounds however were healing fairly quickly, but without the proper attention they would leave awful scaring on the tissue. Sakura left that job to Hinata._

_Sakura focused on the wound on Naruto's skull. With every pump of his heart a little bit more blood escaped. Luckily the cut hadn't been too deep or he could have suffered much worse. It was a mostly simple matter to heal the cut, but she had to be careful around the thin layer of skin that protected the skull. She didn't really have to do much as she noticed that he was mostly healing himself._

_Sakura looked up after finishing her work at the same time as Hinata. The group now stood in a circle around the half demon and those healing him. They looked on sadly at the boy that had become the thing he was fighting to prove he wasn't his whole life._

"_What do you think Jiraiya?" Kakashi spoke as he stood next to the legendary sannin. Jiraiya just frowned as he continued looking at Naruto. Finally he shook his head sadly and spoke._

"_I don't know honestly. Look at his stomach, it's completely gone now." Looking down they all noticed that there was no longer the spiral seal that used to rest around the boy's navel. "We will have to get back to Konoha so I can do more research."_

"_How do you expect to do that?" _

_Everyone turned in surprise to look at Shikamaru. "Look at him. It's not like we can walk him into Konoha, you know how they already feel about him. They will try to kill him before he even gets ten feet inside." Everyone frowned in understanding at what Shikamaru said. It was true, there was no way they could just walk into Konoha with half demon fox._

"_Regardless I can't set his arm properly here; we need to take him somewhere to rest. Also I need some food pills for now Chouji." Chouji nodded as he pulled out a couple of the small pills from one of his pouches. After Sakura caught them she put them in his mouth and slowly rubbed his neck to get him to follow. If she had some sort of IV she would of used it, but that would only be available in Konoha, for now feeding him pills would keep him alive until he was awake. _

"_There should be a decent village a few hours from here on the way back to Konoha; we can stay there for a while till we manage to figure out a plan if we rent a room." Kurenai spoke up after thinking about the best possible option. She had stayed in the village once for a mission not to long ago, it was likely their best option at the moment._

_Wordlessly the group set into motion as Kakashi picked up his student. They all left quickly out the same way they had entered. Hinata never stayed more than an arms length away from Naruto at any given moment._

XxXxXxXxX

-Hinata-

That had been four days ago. When they made it to the outskirts of the village the group had split up. Hinata, Jiraiya, and Kakashi stayed with Naruto while the rest went into town to rent the rooms. The inn itself was two stories high, using most of their money they had to purchase all the rooms on the top floor for everyone in the group, it was good not only for room, but also for their secrecy. Once all the blinds were closed they sent a signal to Hinata and her group, as soon as they got it they teleported in a puff of smoke inside the room.

Once inside they laid him on the bed as Sakura used whatever she could scrounge inside the village to set his arm. In the end they bandaged him up fairly well, but there was still no way to feed him anything except for food pills until he woke up himself. Hinata had set herself a chair next to his bed and never left his side that night.

To their surprise when they woke up his wounds seemed to be fully healed. The malnutrition was still there, but the bones had mended together and his cuts had fully healed. Jiraiya could only speculate that the fusion made the process of healing much quicker to him than it did before. It would likely be even quicker if he was focusing his demonic chakra in to the wounds. Still though he had yet to wake up from his deep sleep.

Hinata sat there watching him. She had barely left his side at all while since they had arrived. Food was brought up to her by her teammates and she would only leave to shower and use the restroom. She herself would sleep in the only other bed in the room, not allowing anyone else to take up the spot. She wanted to be there when he woke up; she wanted to be there since she thought it would help him.

She herself was in a state of turmoil though. She had broken down several times at night while everyone was asleep. She cried for him while holding onto his hand praying for him to wake up. She cried because she knew that he had become the thing the villagers hated him for, cried because likely all his dreams were shattered now, and she cried because she didn't know what she could do for him. All she could do was give him her support. '_Am I really so useless?'_

She had been a wreck and she knew it, everyone had tried to get her out of the room, but she wouldn't listen to it. In truth the event before had really scarred her feelings on her friends. How they could attack him so quickly without looking underneath to see the truth really hurt her trust in some of them. She only really trusted those that either helped her, or the ones that only observed like Shino and Shikamaru. It probably wasn't healthy for her to just be sitting there like that observing him as he slept. She could smile though as she now could say that he was safe here. Safe with her; where she could protect him.

She smiled softly as she watched his ears twitch while he himself was in a deep sleep. Four of his large fluffy tails wrapped around him almost like a blanket as he slept, as the other tail rested under his head like a pillow. To most it would seem weird, but Naruto had always seemed a little like fox, and on his peaceful face it looked the most relaxing thing in the world. His fox ears stood up most of the time, but would occasionally twitch in the wind. The only things that she considered more threatening on his body were his now longer and sharper nails and teeth.

In all honesty Hinata considered his new ears and tail the cutest thing in the world. So all in all her views on him hadn't changed one bit, if anything he had become even more handsome to her. She had already considered him very handsome. She personally thought that he looked like a younger version of the Yondaime; she even considered idea that he could be his son. If that was true then he would even stand a chance of asking her father if they could date. Hinata blushed at the thought.

The few weeks that they had been training together in the morning had been the best of Hinata's life. The first morning when he found her she almost had a heart attack, but after that things went great. Naruto seemed to enjoy being around her. She even thought she caught him staring at her or blushing at her a couple of times. After that she decided she had an over active imagination.

She had hoped to be able to build her confidence while she trained with him. The day they were attacked she hoped to ask him if he wanted to have lunch at Ichikaru with her. It would be one of the biggest risks she had ever taken, but if he accepted, even just as a friend, it would have been worth it. Her thoughts were interrupted when after knocking on the door Sakura entered the tiny room.

"No change I guess?" Sakura let out a large sigh and sat down on the other bed inside the room. The only people that had used the room were Hinata and Naruto, when she wasn't asleep she would sit next to him.

"Well everyone else has already gone to sleep and I am too. You should get some sleep yourself Hinata; all this stress isn't good for you." Hinata didn't really want to go to sleep, but it was late and she was feeling exhausted. "If he wakes up I am sure his loud mouth will get you up in a heart beat sleeping in here." Sakura joked to help coax Hinata into sleeping.

Deciding some sleep was a good idea Hinata nodded and went to the bathroom to wash he face before she slept. When she came back into the room Naruto was still sound asleep and Sakura had left the room. She took off her forehead protector and placed it in her pack for later. She plopped down on the covers and was instantly asleep.

XxXxXxXxX

-Naruto-

_He was small, only a child by the feel of it. He had been running, running for hours it felt like on his small body. Not once could he rest as he darted down the streets of the city he was inside of. That feeling was driving him, a feeling no child his age should ever have to feel._

_The fear of death._

_Behind him he could here them. A large number of people were chasing him through the street. He had no idea why they were after him; he couldn't remember doing anything wrong. He was just out on walk for his birthday. He had heard of the festival in town, and maybe if he was lucky he would be able to scrounge up some kind of food for the night. Never did he expect such a huge mob to be chasing after him when he got there._

_The faces of everyone there…they all looked at him with hate. He didn't understand what he had done, or even why he would have done anything to make everyone so mad at him. He had tried saying he was sorry, but none of them would listen to it. They all just continued to chase after him and call for his death. His death to honor some hero._

_He rounded another corner hoping to escape, to his dismay there were another group of people looking at him menacingly. At first they didn't plan to do anything to the boy, but when they caught sight of the large mob chasing him, they decided to help by blocking his way._

_Naruto looked left and right, but there was no way for him to go. Slowly he started backing towards a wall as people started to surround him. Finally he felt his back hit the wall as he no longer felt anywhere that he could run to. He looked on with fear as he could see some of them smirking at him. Tears were threatening to escape from his eyes as he looked on in fear._

"_I-I d-don't know w-what I did…b-but I'm sorr-" _

_Before he could finish he was kicked hard in the stomach and pushed against the wall. Immediately the tears he was trying to hold back came out. He was only five and had no idea what would make the man kick him. But now like all other children his age when hurt, he cried._

"_What the fuck do you mean you don't know!" The man yelled at him._

"_You caused it." _

_He never wanted anything bad to happen to anyone_

"_You killed them!"_

_He had never hurt anyone._

"_You're a demon!"_

_He was just a little boy._

_The beating he felt was awful. People took turns hitting him, throwing him, trying to kill him. He apologized over and over again, but they would have none of it. They were in a drunken rage, feeding their fuel for hate off of the memories of their deceased loved ones. _

_He was lying on his back when a man stood over top of him. Naruto was still crying from the beating. His clothes had been mostly ripped, his had bruises all over his body and cuts in different places. He could see whoever it was had a sharp knife in his hands ready to take the plunge into his heart._

_Moonlight glinted off something on the person's forehead. Looking up he saw a metal plate covering it. On the plate was an engraving of some sort. The symbol looked a lot like a leaf._

_Naruto looked on in fear as he raised the dagger high into the air. He closed his eyes in a desperate attempt to hide from the pain about to come. He heard the sound of flesh ripping open and the sound of something landing near his head. Opening his eyes slowly Naruto looked up to see the man that had the knife holding his hand as a kunai had penetrated through it. Looking to his left he saw the knife mere inches from his face. _

_Wondering what happened he could only look in the same direction the man with the wound was glaring at. Standing there where the crowd seemed to part around him was another man. He wore what Naruto had heard referred to as ANBU body armor. He had no idea what it meant, but asking someone would have likely got him hit. He also wore a strange mask over the top of his face. None of his features showed except for one. His hair was spiky and stood off towards one side on his head; the color of it was gray._

Naruto opened his eyes quickly from the dream. He gripped his head in pain as the dream caused a pain like no other in the back of his head. He kept applying pressure to his skull as if hoping that would help relieve the pressure there. After a long while the pain started to die down and he opened his eyes.

His eyes were unfocused as he looked around where he was. There were no lights on in the room, only the streaks of light from the moon outside coming through the blinds. Whatever he was on was very soft, but for some reason it just didn't feel right being in here all cramped up to him. It was like he was in another cell…perhaps he was.

Memories flooded into him of what happened before he fell unconscious. In truth he suspected to be dead right now, but maybe they were friends? Or maybe they just wanted to torture him too. Then he caught a scent in the air. '_lavenders…'_

Looking over after sniffing he noticed the light from the moon resting on a very tired and sleeping Hinata. Naruto gasped involuntarily when he caught sight of her. The angel of his dreams was there and safe next to him. He caught some other scents in the air though, the scents of the people that attacked him earlier as he tried to get to that Neji boy. The memory of him stuck out like a sore thumb. His eyes widened when he realized something though.

'_They had the same headband with the markings as the one that tried to kill me in that dream…'_

Naruto didn't know whether or not to think of the dream as just that, a dream, or if it was some memory from his missing past that he knew nothing about. Naruto looked towards Hinata thinking that when she was awake she would be able to tell him everything. When he looked at her closely he noticed that she wasn't wearing one of those metal plates.

'_So why was she with them then? ...Could they have captured her too? Were they both prisoners now?'_

His ears twitched as he heard movement outside the door of the room he was in. Focusing his hearing he listened as he heard two pairs of feet walking towards the door and stop right outside of it,

"So what do you think they will do?"

"Likely some tests will have to be done and experiments…"

Naruto drew in a sharp breath at the word experiments. He had been a part of that with Kabuto…a lot of that. So he was right; they had recaptured him and apparently Hinata too. He could stand being tortured, but there was no way he could allow it to happen to her. It was likely they were guarding everywhere, looking outside he noticed the moon was high in the sky and there didn't seem to be any guards.

Carefully he went to Hinata's bed and scooped her up in his arms. She stayed asleep as he softly carried her as best he could. Getting to the window he opened carefully enough to not make any noise and leapt out of the two story window. Gracefully he landed and used his legs to cushion the fall for the sleeping girl. With that he sprinted off as fast without waking her from her slumber. He would protect her.

Looking on his shoulder he saw a small bug. He flicked it off quickly and continued his break neck speed, unaware that he had just given himself away.

XxXxXxXxX

-Hinata-

She content, warm, and at peace. She had not felt this feeling for a long time. A feeling of complete comfort where she was at. In truth she only felt this in two places before now. The first was in her mother's arms before she passed away. She loved her mother dearly and cried for days on end when she died.

The second place she felt at peace with herself she discovered when she was twelve on the day of the exam finals. After her talk with Naruto where she finally found the courage to give him advice she always felt at peace in that spot. She would go there to think often after training. Most of the time the thoughts were of her love, but other times it was over missions and her clan.

But for some reason she had discovered a new spot now and she was curious as to where it was. Fluttering her eyes open she was greeted by tanned flesh. Confused she blinked a few times and brought her hands up to rub her eyes. She looked again and saw the same thing.

She pulled back just a little bit to get a better view and blushed multiple shades of red as she realized where she was. She was against Naruto's chest as he slept. His tails were wrapped around her, as were his arms, holding her in an embrace. At this only Hinata could only feel one emotion…complete delight.

She pulled her head back a little bit further and decided to look at her surroundings. Looking around it seemed like they were in an old barn house. Light came in through cracks in the wood and it looked like it was in fairly bad shape, but overall decent cover. Apparently they were asleep on some hay and she had to admit it was comfortable…but that wasn't likely because of the hay.

"Hello Hinata-chan."

Hinata gasped a little in surprise as she looked at Naruto and was locked into Naruto's blue eyes. A small blush made its way to her face from Naruto's bright smile as he looked down at her. She was about to respond to him when his eyes started to change a deep shade of crimson and his ears lay flat against his head as he started to stand.

"They're in here!" She heard someone outside yell.


	6. Rush

Kitsune Memories

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Rush

Hinata's head swiveled towards where she heard the voice come from '_That sounds like Kiba-kun'_ . Looking back towards where Naruto was she noticed was standing in the center of the barn looking menacingly towards the entrance.

All he was dressed in was a pair of blood stained orange pants that were ripped into looking more like shorts. She could see the wounds on his body had mostly healed, but scars were still evident from his recent torture. He had been cleaned up some while he was unconscious by a washcloth, but other than that he was still dirty. His long fluffy tails were tense in the air and his ears were back in anger.

All too quickly Hinata realized exactly what Naruto was thinking. That the friends he had sworn to protect were their enemies. So now whatever Orochimaru had done to him had left him somehow confused about things. Quickly she stood up and ran behind him to warn him and tell him to wait.

"Wai-"

Before she could do anything though he wiped around and faced her while grabbing her shoulder with one hand and putting his fingers carefully on her lips to silence her. He looked at her caringly as his eyes were those deep blue again. All she could do was stand there wide eyed with a constantly rising blush from the contact while looking into his eyes.

"I swear on my life I will always watch over you." All she could do was nod slowly in stunned silence. Quickly he replaced his fingers with his own lips for a quick kiss and then pulled back away to look at her with a foxy grin on his face.

Hinata stood stock still with eyes wide. Her face had completely paled in shock from what Naruto had done. She raised one hand and pinched her arm quickly. She was defiantly awake and this was real. Pale white skin was immediately replaced by furious red skin as Hinata blushed harder than she ever had in her life and promptly fainted on the ground.

Naruto stood there a little shocked at her collapsing in front of him. '_Oh shit what happened!'_. Quickly he looked around the barn suddenly panicked at what happened. Was something used on her? Or maybe she was just frightened by the people coming and passed out? Yes that had to be it.

His head picked up and his ear swiveled around behind his head towards the door where he heard quickly approaching foot steps.

XxXxXxXxX

-Sakura-

Sakura had woken up to sound of Kiba yelling "WHAT!?" in the room next to the girls. Looking over at the clock in the room she saw that it was one am. She tried to go back to sleep, thinking that the boys were just being loud again as they normally were at night, but instead of that the sounds in the other room continued to grow until she could no longer think of falling asleep.

'_He is gonna feel this tomorrow.' '__**Cha!'**_She thought as she started to get up with an angry twitch in her eye. She slowly walked out the door and went towards the boys bedroom where she could hear commotion inside. Suddenly the door opened as Kiba and some of the other boys were trying to get out quickly already fully dressed.

"KEEP IT DOWN IDIOT!"

Sakura yelled with fury as she swung her right fist straight towards Kiba. He never even had a chance to dodge as his eyes widened in slow motion as he watched the chakra infused fist come towards his gut. He was sent backwards with incredible force into Chouji who just stood there like a brick wall against the projectile that was Kiba.

She stood there fuming for a few seconds until she noticed everyone standing in there were fully dressed for travel. She raised an eyebrow as she looked at them wondering what had happened.

"What's going on in here?"

"Hinata and Naruto are gone." Shino simply replied to her question.

"WHAT!?"

Sakura quickly ran back to the girls room and woke all of them telling them to dress quickly. She was back out the door fully packed in a minute. Downstairs she met with some of the first people finished getting ready. Lee, Shino, Kiba, and Kurenai were the first ones outside. Quickly they took off ahead of the rest of the group as an advanced search party.

Normally they would do some talking about what had happened on the way to their target, but the only talking done was a long list of different curse words from Kiba as he tried to track down his two comrades. He couldn't understand it, but he and Shino were having more difficulty tracking them then they had against most Jounin level targets. Every time they would think they had the right path, they would come to another well disguised split or need to double back a little ways to take another route.

Finally after nearly a dozen different mistrials and Kiba seemed to smirk and sprint off faster than before ahead of the group till he was almost out of sight. Suddenly he disappeared through some shrubbery and they jumped after them. They were blinded by the light for a few minutes before their eyes had finally adjusted to the point where they could see around them at the large field they were now in. At one side of the field was a large decrepit barn house. Kiba stood halfway between the barn and them.

"They're in here!" He yelled.

Shino muttered "baka" as all chances of surprise immediately flew out the window. Quickly they caught up to him where Kurenai slapped him upside the head for his outburst. He at least he had the decency to act a little sheepish at their looks.

"He was just demonstrating the springtime of youth with his manly yell!"

Lee too was slapped upside his head by Sakura as Shino just shook his head while Kurenai pinched the bridge of her nose. She took in a deep breath and let it out before taking on a serious demeanor which seemed to snap everyone into a more serious mood. They all gathered in a circle around her.

"We will move in together quietly, it looks like there is only one entrance to the barn so we will try to get in quickly and take it with caution from there. We don't know why he ran away, or why he took Hinata with him, but we know he is unstable right now. So be careful around him. Got it?"

Everyone nodded in confirmation at the orders given by the older Jounin. As stealthy as possible the group went across the field towards the old barn. Different pieces of old rusty farming equipment was strewn out along the walls of the old barn. Looking around they noticed the large main doors were the only entrance. They positioned themselves on both sides of the main door and prepared to jump inside. Through hand signal Kurenai did the countdown they were all on edge for before they finally jumped inside.

It didn't take long for their eyes to adjust to the light as they entered inside. The inside of the barn was in a small state of disarray form the obvious lack of use from the place. Everything was covered in dust and the old musty smell of rotting wood assaulted their senses. Shadows lined every wall as the only light that came in was through the slits in between the panels of wood lining the barn. Immediately they saw Hinata unconscious on the ground in the center of the barn.

"Hinata!"

Kurenai quickly tried to reach for Kiba's shoulder to hold him back, but he was too quick for her. He enthusiastically ran towards the girl on the ground. She swore in her head that she swore in her head that when they got back she was going to drill protocol into the thick boys head. She was about to yell for him to get back before her breath caught in her throat as Kiba reached Hinata.

Pure killing intent flooded to the room. Causing the insects inside of Shino to start to buzz loudly, Akamaru dropped to the ground and started whimpering behind his paws, and everyone else just froze in place at the amount in the room. There was a quick blur as in one second the spot Kiba had been occupying was replaced with another.

"**Don't you dare touch her!"**

XxXxXxXxX

-Naruto-

He watched waiting for the right moment to strike in the shadows. He hated using Hinata like he was, but it was needed if they wanted to get out of the situation they were now stuck in. The one thing he didn't take into consideration though was just how protective of her he was. He found that every step the young male with brown hair and two red stripes down his cheek took towards her his anger just built. When he was less that a foot from her he couldn't take it anymore and let the world feel his anger.

He felt his legs seem to strengthen on instinct and he sprinted forward. Time seemed to almost stand still to him as he went through the air. His outstretched arm connected cleanly with the boys gut. He kept the force of his arm going even after contact, resulting in him sending the guy through the wall on the far side of the room and to the outside.

Naruto slowly looked towards the group that had come after them. They had the same metal bands across different parts of their body as the one that tried to kill him in his dream. He could feel energy sweeping through him as he clenched and unclenched his fists.

"**Don't you dare touch her!"**

XxXxXxXxX

-Kurenai-

Everyone stood stock still looking at him. His eyes had turned to a deep crimson red as his tails fanned out behind him as if on display to his enemies. His nails and teeth had grown slightly longer and sharper as he stood in front of them. Killing intent rolled off of him as he looked at the group. They were all shocked at the speed he displayed. There seemed to be a flash of gold and he was suddenly there in front of them as Kiba flew through the wall.

Kurenai knew it was a bad idea to mess with him in his condition. She was more worried, however, about Hinata. She couldn't leave her with him as unstable as Naruto was now. They either captured Naruto now, or somehow got Hinata away from him. She settled on trying to distract him to get Hinata away. He watched her closely as she leaned into Sakura's ear.

"We need to get him away from Hinata..." She quickly realized her mistake when she saw his ears twitch and all the killing intent in the room suddenly focus on her.

XxXxXxXxX

-Naruto-

He heard what she said almost as if she had spoken directly to him. He could tell she was trying to be discreet about it, but he could hear it perfectly clearly. They wanted to separate him and Hinata. '_Like hell' _Realizing they weren't going to be backing down he made the first move.

He rushed straight for the one that uttered the words, the one with black hair and red eyes. She was standing right next to the girl with pink hair, but he didn't care right now that there were better targets. He was feeling a rush through his body as he sprinted forward into them. She quickly pushed the girl with pink hair away from her and got into a stance defensively.

She tried to dodge his blow, but his speed was beyond anything she had dealt with before. His knee connected cleanly with sternum easily breaking it and sending her back out of breath grasping at her chest.

He noticed the girl she pushed away start to come towards him from his left. Her right hand was cocked back and in a fist. He winced in pain as he caught her fist in the palm of his hand. She seemed to smirk at him at the pain in his hand. He felt the rush of energy coursing through his body pick up a little and his hand start to feel better. Looking at his hand he noticed it looked completely fine, so he let himself grin at her shocked expression.

He gripper her hand tightly as he twisted it sharply, reveling in the snapping sound her heard come from her wrist and her small cry in pain. He pulled on her arm harshly and heard the popping sound of her arm dislocating when he threw her across the room at pole. To his surprise a man in a green suit appeared in front of her and caught her easily.

The sound of buzzing reached his ear as he turned around and saw a disgusting sight. An innumerable number of bugs started to come out of the sleeves of the man in the large jacket with dark sunglasses. Quickly they flew through the air aiming to latch onto his body.

He didn't know exactly how it happened really. He just wanted a way to get rid of the swarm heading straight for him. As if at the thought he felt the temperature in the room rise considerably focusing at his right hand. In the palm of his hand rested a blue plume of flame. Looking at it with a grin he just cocked his arm back and threw it at the oncoming swarm. The horrible sound of screeching insects reached his ears as he incinerated more than a third of the swarm while the rest retreated.

"GATSUUGA!"

His ears twitched when he heard the loud yell come from above him. Looking up he saw a whirling tornado smash straight through the ceiling above him and flew down towards him. He easily stepped to the side to avoid the attack, but was quickly caught in the face by kick from the boy in green. He felt the air nearly get knocked out of him as he flew sideways into a support beam.

Naruto gasped for air as he stood up dizzy looking at his opponents. The two females were still both down, the dog seemed to frightened to do much of anything, the one that nearly reached Hinata looked pretty hurt from the initial hit and slamming into the ground, while the other two seemed mostly fresh. Slowly he side stepped them in a circle, placing himself once again between them and Hinata.

The one with glasses moved in first. He had a kunai armed in each hand as they started to dance around each other in a deadly dance. Kunai against claws clashed sharply as both fought against one another. He could tell though that he wasn't a close range fighter though. He was sloppy in places and quickly wearing out. '_There'_ His advantage came a moment later as he dug his foot into the other boys gut sending him across the room.

A sound like an explosion hit his ears as dust covered the entire area. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the area the sound came from. Two large craters rested next to the one in green as he stood with the bandages around his arm unwrapped. Their eyes met for only a brief second before he disappeared from view. '_Fast!'_

Pain exploded in his jaw as he felt the blow strike him in the face sending him skyward. To his surprise though he was kicked again in mid air sending him higher into the air. Again he was kicked by the one in green traveling upwards with him. This continued until finally he went out the hole made earlier by the dog boy and the kicks stopped coming.

XxXxXxXxX

-Kiba-

Kiba was hurting bad from the initial blow he had taken. He was pretty positive he had a broken rib at least from the blow. Still though he had to protect his teammates, he couldn't just leave them to fight Naruto alone. So he used Gatsuuga from above to try and surprise Naruto. Unfortunatly he got out of the way in time so Kiba slammed pretty hard into the ground, nothing he couldn't take though.

He watched as Lee disappeared after dropping his weights. Even today he was still surprised by the amount of speed Lee possessed after wearing all the weight he did. What he didn't expect was for Lee to open up the fight with the Initial Lotus. Apparently he must have thought it would be their only chance to slow him down at all.

Only seconds after they disappeared through the hole he had created himself they came back down. Kiba watched as the two created another hole in the roof as Lee had Naruto completely wrapped up in his bandages. The spin was going to fast for even Kiba's eyes to keep up with the speed and dust billowed out everywhere as the two slammed into the ground.

The dust took a second or two to clear. The first thing he saw was a battered Lee making his way out of the wide crater in the ground holding his right arm. The grinned at each other and turned around to watch the rest of the dust settle. When it did they saw a heavily bleeding Naruto struggling to sit up at the other side of the crater.

This was Kiba's chance.

XxXxXxXxX

-Naruto-

He felt like vomiting right now from what he just went through. The spin and the pain of the blow were unbelievable. He had barely managed to crawl out of the crater and was lying down on his back. Blood ran freely down his forehead from where it collided with the roof and the ground at high speed. His breathing was suddenly constricted.

He opened his eyes to see a hand with a firm hold around his neck. He could only see the shadow of the face above him, but he could clearly make out the symbol on his forehead. He could hear him saying something, but he couldn't understand it right now. And a sharp kunai was positioned in the air ready to strike down into its target.

Very suddenly he was no longer fighting these people. He was back in that little street with people surrounding him. He was a little boy again looking up at his death. All he could see and hear was his own breathing and the knife positioned menacingly above his chest. He was helpless as he stared at his own death.

Soft steady breathing reached his ear. Looking to the side he could see Hinata lying there peacefully sleeping. '_That's right…not just for me…'_ He flexed his clawed hand to the side of him as he got ready to make his gamble. Either he would take the knife quickly, or he would die.

There was a loud clash of metal above his face. The knife in the man's hand fell from his grip loosely and fell straight down towards Naruto's face. He tilted his head quickly enough to be graced with a long cut down the side of his cheek. Staring wide eyed in shock he could only look to the entrance.

Standing there with the light at his back he could make out the shadow of the man from before. The same spiky gray hair that stood off towards one side as the person from his dream. Slowly Naruto raised his arm up as if reaching for him with a look of pleading in his eyes, before he fell unconscious.

XxXxXxXxX

-Hinata-

Hinata had been having a wonderful dream. Naruto had run away with her and they had both hidden away from the rest of society. They were together and he had promised to always be with her. Then he kissed her. She had dreams like this often, but this one felt the most real. What she woke up to though was most defiantly a nightmare.

When she woke up she saw Kiba on top of a heavily bleeding Naruto. Naruto was looking towards the entrance at Kakashi with his hand in the air. Then his arm fell limp and his eyes closed. Her heart stopped at the sight.

"NARUTO-KUN!"

Hinata screamed as she ran over to him, tears already coming out of her eyes at the sight. She roughly pushed Kiba off of Naruto as she collapsed onto his chest crying. She quickly placed her ear on top of his bloodied chest to hear the sound she wanted.

_Thump thump_

Relief flooded through he and she hugged his body to hers even tighter than before. She lay there on top of him for a few minutes before she felt a hand on her shoulder. Sakura was standing there.

"Let's heal him up and get back ok?" Hinata could only nod as her sobbing had brought up hiccups. She could hear an argument behind her about what had happened before. She had to wonder if they even tried to talk to him at all, but those questions were better left till after Naruto had been patched up.

XxXxXxXxX

-Naruto-

Groggily he yawned as he started to wake up. He had to admit he was fairly comfortable where he was, but it was time to check on Hinata. Suddenly everything that happened before rushed into his head and he tried to get up only to be rewarded with a loud squeak and a weight falling on his lap.

He blinked a couple of times to focus his eyes before he realized what was now on his lap. Hinata sat there blushing like a tomato from where she had fallen after he sat up quickly. And all around them were the people with those headbands. Naruto pulled Hinata tightly against himself protectively.

"W-who are you people?"

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Woah a new chapter…

Quick vote: Keep it to how I am currently narrating from different view points? Or now that they are together again make it multiple views like I do in most of my stories.


	7. What happened?

Kitsune Memories

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

What happened?

Anyone who knew Kakashi could say that they had never seen him react this way before. He was always a very aloof and calm person unless the situation dictated a different action. Right now was completely different though. For lack of a better work, Kakashi was furious. It had all taken place over an hour ago, but he could help but still be mad about the even taking place. For that reason was now up on top of the roof of the hotel just sitting and watching the horizon thinking about it.

_Kakashi__ raced through the forest at his best speed. He had been out gathering some supplies when word got out of Naruto leaving. When he came back one group was already gone and the rest were just about to leave. __Kakashi__ was gone in a puff of smoke immediately and racing through the forest. The trail to follow that was left by __Kiba__ was…confusing to say the least. Every time he would think he was heading the right way, something would happen and his trail would swivel around._

_Still though he couldn't get rid of the feeling that something bad was happening and he needed to move as fast as he could. He had made a promise to himself about his student; he would never abandon them and never allow one to be hurt if he could help it. This feeling though was pushing him, as if he knew something was going wrong with boy he had come to care for and respect. The young man he saw as the future __Hokage_

_Another promise he made to himself many years ago was to respect the wishes of his sensei. When the Fourth sealed the __Kyuubi__ into Naruto he asked that the child be seen as a hero to his people. What he didn't count on was just how cruel the own people he died to protect __could be. So __Kakashi__ did the best that he could to protect Naruto when he was child. Personally requesting the __Hokage__ to watch over the boy while he was an __Anbu__, at least until Naruto could enter the academy._

_He had never been more grateful to the __Hokage__ for granting his request. Fact was if it wasn't for __Kakashi__ Naruto would have died more times than he could count on his fingers and toes before he ever even entered the academy.__ Every time he stopped someone he was called a traitor to __Konoha__ and e__very time he stopped a ninja he was accused of betrayi__ng his own sensei. To which he simply responded "I am respecting my sensei's last wish and putting my trust in him to keep us safe even in death."_

_It was true he lost a lot of respect from the village for his actions, but he couldn't really give a damn what th__ey thought about him. Not only did he have orders to watch over the boy, but he had a deep moral obligation he felt to watch over young Naruto. After all he was the so-_

_"__Damnit__Kiba__!" __Kakashi__ muttered to himself as once again the path took an awkward turn at a random moment in time. The path was continuously twisting and turning around in random directions to the point where it was nearly impossible to follow. Every second he kept running that bad feeling just kept intensifying to the __poin__-_

_Kakashi's__ eyes widened as he felt a large spike of chakra and killing intent erupt throughout the entire forest. '__damnit__' __Kakashi__ quickly swiveled to his left in the direction source and began an all out sprint through the forest. Shallow cuts started to appear on his face and other exposed limbs as he started to not care about them in his sprint. _

_'There!' __Kakashi__ burst out of the forest into a large field, his eyes slowly adjusting to the bright light of the open field over that of the shadowy forest. His eyes widened as he saw two figures burst through the roof of a barn across the field, one with five golden tails being kicked up into the air by a boy in green. 'Lotus' __The__ bandages around lees arms came undone and wrapped around the __kitsune's__ body as they started to spin rapidly back down towards the barn. _

_Kakashi__ watched as the two disappeared back into the barn and explosion came from the inside. He could see dust fly out of every opening from the barn as he began to sprint again towards the barn. '__Im__gonna__ kill __Gai__ for teach him Lotus.' As he approached he saw the dust was starting to settle. _

_He was startled by what he saw inside. __Kiba__ was on top of__ a bloodied__ Naruto with a kunai poised to strike down. Instantly the night that __Kakashi__ had saved Naruto from a large mob flashed through his mind as he saw the scene. __Kiba__ was yelling for Naruto to snap out of it__, to__ calm down, but Naruto eyes were only focused in on the blade above his heart. None of what __Kiba__ was saying was getting through to Naruto. '__Damnit__'_

_Quickly __Kakashi__ whipped out a k__unai and threw it in one motion. It met with __Kiba's__ with a loud clang as he was forced to drop the weapon just inches from __Naruto's__ head.__Kiba__ looked up shocked at the turn of events while __Naruto's__ eyes widened when the blade fell. Naruto head tur__ned and look directly at him__Kakashi__ could see his eyes change from the expression of shock to an expression of relief. He reached his hand towards __Kakashi__ in a pleading manner before he succumbed to unconsciousness._

_"NARUTO-KUN!!"_

_Hinata__ had roughly shoved __Kiba__ right off of Naruto as she collapsed to the__ ground on top of him sobbing. __Soon as he saw that she was taking care of Naruto __Kakashi__ walked over to the shocked looking __Kiba_

_"__Kakashi-sen__-"__Kiba__ was quickly cut off as __Kakashi__ picked him up by the collar and pinned him up against the wall._

_"What the hell do you think you're doing!?"_

_Kiba's__ eyes widened as his mouth gaped open at the question __Kakashi__ gave him. "I-I was just trying to calm him down."_

_"By putting him at knife point?!"_

_"H-he was attacking us-"_

_"What did you say to get him to attack you?!" __Kakashi__ demanded._

_"__Wha__…what do you mean?" __Kiba__ stammered out in fear as he was held in place._

_"What did you say to him?" __Kakashi__ repeated hotly.__ Did they not even say a word to him before the fighting started? What did they do just start attacking him with no provocation?_

_"Let go of him __Kakashi__." __Kakashi__ didn't even turn his head to the source of the voice.__Kurenai__ was walking over still clutching her chest a little.__ Sakura had just got done healing what she could and was now over by Naruto and __Hinata__. He dropped __Kiba__ to the ground unceremoniously before turning around and facing the woman._

_"What happened." He asked._

_"As soon as we entered we saw __Hinata__ down on the ground unconscious. __Kiba__ went over towards her, but was kicked through the wall by Naruto. His eyes had changed color and he was feral looking, I felt the best thing to do would be to get __Hinata__ away from-"_

_"Did you even talk to him?" __Kakashi__ asked._

_"Well…no"_

So now here he was on top of the inn thinking about the argument he had with those that pursued Naruto. He knew he had overreacted a little bit with them, but still it wasn't something that he took easily. They never even tried talking to him for god sake, they just that Naruto was dangerous and that they needed to get Hinata away from him.

Kakashi let out a sigh as he decided it was time he got over it and go check on how things with Naruto were doing. Jumping off the roof he took a quick look around the village they were settled in. Little shops littered the streets as it appeared a normal market day for the town. Seeing his fill he walked into the small inn and proceeded to the room. He opened the door with his eyes closed and greeted everyone with his signature. "Yo!"

"Y-you!"

XxXxXxXxX

-Hinata-

Everyone was looking at him with a stunned expression at his question. Like they weren't expecting him to ask something like that. They had been hoping that the only reason he couldn't remember was because of the feral state he was in, he had remembered Hinata when his eyes were blue and was relatively calm. They hoped it was possible that he just didn't have control of his emotions in his feral state.

"What are you talking about Naruto?" Ino voiced

Naruto looked around in several directions looking for the person Ino had been talking to till he realized that she was actually talking just to him. Everyone's breath caught in their throat as Naruto raised a finger up to point at himself before he asked.

"Are you talking to me? Is that my name?"

Hinata's heart almost broke as her worst fears were confirmed. She was right from the barn; he couldn't remember anything since he was captured. Quietly tears ran down her cheeks as she gripped onto his shirt a little tighter and earning his attention.

XxXxXxXxX

-Naruto-

'_Whats__ going on?__ I'm…Naruto?'_

He felt a small disturbance in his arms and looked down quickly at Hinata. He saw she was crying softly and gripping his shirt tightly.

_"_Hinata-chan why are you crying? What happened?"

"That's what we would like to know Naruto." An old man was sitting next to him on a chair. He had to red marks that ran down his face and had long shaggy white hair that reached far down his back.

"So…I'm Naruto?"

"Yes…your name is Naruto Uzumaki." The old man said carefully.

'_Naruto…__Uzumaki__…not bad' "_So who are you all?"

The old man sighed as he ran his hand through his hair. Looked like he was trying to figure out a way to speak about the subject. "Naruto…we are all your friends."

Naruto gasped at the comment. How was that possible? They had attacked him as a child right? One had tried to kill Hinata when she was younger. Hell they just tried to separate them before right?

"Bullshit!" The man recoiled back in shock at the outburst. "I may not remember much, but I do remember some things. I was nearly killed as a child by people with the same symbol on those metal plates you are wearing." Naruto quickly scanned the room till his eyes laid on the white eyed one he remembered from his dreams. "And you. I saw you nearly kill Hinata. Then you decide to try and take her away from me when I am protecting her. There's no way, you have to be lying. How can I even believe the name you gave me?"

The group was looking at him a little shocked. '_Surprised I didn't fall for it I guess'_ At that moment the door to the room opened. Quickly a figure walked in with his single showing eye upside down in a smile. Instantly Naruto recognized the man in front of him, the same person that rescued him all those years ago.

"Yo!"

"Y-you!"

"Hmm?"He responded as he opened his eye and scanned the room and saw Naruto awake. "Ah good to see you awake Naruto how are you feeling?"

"You're the one that saved me in my dream. When there was that mob around me. But…you have on that same metal plate?" Naruto blurted out.

"Hmm? Oh yes I remember that night. Quite the close call if I remember correctly." Naruto just ran his hand through his hair as he tried to soak in the new information from the man. '_So…if he wears the same symbol, but saved me then maybe not all are bad? So they…__are my friends?__'_

"Naruto can you tell us what happened?" Kakashi grabbed a chair against the wall and brought it near the bed that he and Hinata were on. Naruto just shook his head.

"I-I don't remember anything from before I was in that cell…just some dreams that I have been having is how I know what I know." When Kakashi motioned for him to continue he took a nervous gulp. "That snake bastard told me I was to be his new pet…as if I would serve some disgusting creature like him. When I refused the torture started and then we met that's what happened."

"I see. Why did you run from us before?"

"I heard someone outside the door say they were going to have to do experiments…I just figured I was captured again and tried to escape."

"Now Naruto…have you had any contact with Kyuubi?"

'_huh__Kyuubi__?'_ "Uh what are you talking about?" Some of the room took on a sullen expression at the question. "What's wrong?"

"Naruto…the Kyuubi was a great demon that killed many people from the village we live in."

"Ok…so?"

"We couldn't destroy the demon…so it was sealed inside of you…that's why the village hated you…and why you were attacked as a child."

"Wha..what!? I have a demon inside of me?" He could feel his heartbeat increase and his breath become labored as he listened to what he said. A demon was living inside of his own body? That's why he was nearly killed as a small child?

"Actually we don't know now."

Naruto's thought process completely stopped. "What?"

"After what Orochimaru did to you…we don't know the condition of the seal."

"Did to me? You meant the torture?"

"No Naruto…have you gotten a good look at yourself lately?" Kakashi asked with a hurt look in his eye at what the boy must be going through.

Naruto just shook his head no at the question. He hadn't been able to see a decent reflection of himself at all now that he thought about it since he was in that cell. He was handed a small framed photo from Kakashi's pack.

The picture was one that he guessed was himself. He seemed to be staring up into the sky as his long blond hair was blowing in the wind. He was wearing black pants along with open black jacket. Underneath of that was a dark orange t-shirt. He could notice that on his bicep was one of those same metal plates they were all wearing. '_Hey I'm not half bad looking.' _He tilted the photo some to get a better look at it.

_Crash_

He only saw it for a second, but now he defiantly realized it as he saw his reflection in the glass picture. He didn't notice it before when he was looking at the picture before, but now he saw it. The ears, the tails, the claws, all of it…he had been changed…

"I...I…I'm a demon now aren't I…"

"We don't know that yet Naruto-"

"What do you mean don't know? Look at what's happened to me!" He could feel himself starting to tremble some as he was bombarded by the different thoughts running through his mind.

He was brought out of his thoughts when a hand rested itself on his shoulder. He looked up quickly to see the old man with white hair standing next to him trying to give him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry Naruto. We will do everything in our power to set things right."

"H-hai" He was still very overwhelmed, but that was at least a little reassuring. He quickly stifled a yawn though as he was feeling exhaustion come back over him. Sudden movement caught his attention as he saw the girl with pink hair from before stand up.

"Ok everyone lets get out. He needs his rest…NOW!"

Quickly everyone in the room started to head for the door as Naruto still held Hinata in place. Before anyone exited Kakashi turned around and asked something.

"Naruto if you don't mind my asking…just what is Hinata to you?"

Naruto cocked his head to the side some at the question. What kind of a question was that? He looked back and forth from the girl in his lap to the people in front of him. "What do you mean? She's my mate."

A second after the words were spoken Naruto slipped into unconsciousness from the said girl as her skull collided with his as she fainted.

XxXxXxXxX

-Shuro Kisagi-

It was a busy day in the village for the old fruit vendor. The town was abuzz with different discussions about events around the countryside. A number of rumors about the number of Konoha ninja holed up in the local inn were the most talked about. While he didn't care much for ninja, he could admit that they brought good business to him.

Just earlier in the day he talked to a charming young man. He may have dressed a little strangely, being that he was in a skin tight green suit, but he was very polite to him. It was something he didn't honestly expect from a ninja. He expected them all to be nearly emotionless warriors, but he was quite kind. It changed a lot of his views on the ninja world.

"Excuse me sir."

Shuro turned around and faced the counter of his little stand. In front of him were two very imposing figures that he had never seen in town before. Both wore long pitch black cloaks with red clouds imprinted on them and wore straw hats covering their faces. One was much taller than the other one and had a very large wrapped object on his back. '_Ah must be more ninja'_

"How can I help you gentlemen today?"

The smaller of the two raised his cap a little to the point where there were still shadows covering his face. However to red orbs with three black swirling commas were clearly visible through the darkness.

"We are looking for someone."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Sorry about the wait and sorry for the shortness of this chapter. New Guardian should be out in the next couple days and I'll talk more about my current stories in my talking area on that one.


	8. The Hunted

Kitsune Memories

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

The Hunted

_It was a beautiful vision. Something you could see at all the time, but only if__ you knew exactly when__ to look and where to look from__. In this case he was looking down from a tall cliff over onto a city. He sat on top of the head of a spiky haired man while to his right rested the faces of three other men and to his left was the face of a woman on the mountain. _

_The city itself was alight in the night. A festival was taking place on the ground below him. Children ran around as small firecrackers exploded, vendors lined the streets selling different trinkets and collectable, and everyone seemed to be celebrating. Music could be heard all throughout the city. He could see families walking hand and hand along the street, pointing out different shops or little attractions to each other and smiling with each other. _

_He drew his legs close to him and rested his chin on them as he looked at all the families. Jealousy and hurt ran through his heart as he looked on at the people in front of him. He could feel his hand gripping his own clothing tightly as__ his muscles tensed in thought._

_"At least I'm spending the new year with you again dad." __Naruto__ spoke out loud and patted__one hand on top__ of the head he was sitting on before sighing and resuming his somber look. This place he spent every holid__ay since he had found the way up the mountain__ was his refuge_

_He wasn't sure exactly how long he had been up there. People were starting to __gather more in the center of the village around the __Hokage__ tower, everyone preparing and finding the best spot to watch with their family. He felt the presence coming up behind him long before he heard him enter the area and sit down next to him._

_Next to him now sat a raven haired figure with deep onyx eyes that stared out onto the city. Him wearing a dark navy blue kimono for the holiday and the sword he typically had through his belt now rested on the ground between them for comfort. They didn't look at each other, but could easily feel how the other felt right now. _

_"Why aren't you down there?" He had to question the raven haired figure._

_"Why aren't you down there?" He questioned right back._

_Naruto__ let out a sigh as he stared out over the city. A feeling of uneasiness was starting to settle about telling him the truth. "I always spend my holidays up here, ever since I was a little kid and I found this place after running away from some drunks. It's a great view…and its peaceful I guess."_

_"Is that really the reason that you come up here? __Because it's a good view?__ Or is it because you are afraid of what it will be like for you down there?"_

_Damn him and always being able to read him like an open book. "__Sasuke__…it's just that…I don't know. I guess I am scared. Scared that I will go back down there and be treated like I was when I was a child. I don't want anyone to see me having to run away from a group of drunks again…"_

_"That is foolish." He stated bluntly._

_"__Wha__-?"__Naruto__ sputtered out._

_"You said yourself when you first brought me back that the people of this village had started to respect you a little more. You said it when we were in the hospital and talking to me. If you truly started to earn their respect then you would be more than welcome down there. I think it's something else bothering you about being down there." __Sasuke__ finished._

_They sat in silence for a long while. __Naruto__ contemplating__ exactly what he could say to get out of this and __Sasuke__ simply waiting for a response. Flashes of light exploded in their face lighting up the sky. Fireworks were beginning to launch, celebrating the coming of the New Year to the beautiful village. He could see everyone down there watching from his perch, and his reply came to him._

_"__Sasuke__…What was it like to have a family?"_

XxXxXxXxX

-Naruto-

His eyes shot open and he sat up quickly in his bed. His body drenched in sweat enough to soak the sheets he was laying on. His hands gripped tufts of his hair as he relived the dream. He looked around the room for some kind of escape, he felt as if he was suffocating. Seeing a bathroom off to the side he left the bed and stumbled his way across the room into there.

Hastily he turned on the shower before stripping himself of his clothes and bandages. He stepped into the cold water holding himself up by leaning against the wall until he finally slid down and just curled up in the corner in a ball. Sweat, grime, and blood all mixed with tears at the bottom of the drain as Naruto realized he was crying. Everything in the dream pointed to one thing. He had no family. No one had been there for him all of his life. He was simply a demon container. How could he have possibly survived?

Ever since he learned the truth of his existence he wondered where his family might have been. Maybe they would be waiting for him back in the village, that his friends were the only ones able to come for him. Maybe they were just civilians, not able to come and rescue him in his need. He was kidding himself.

He didn't know how, but he had known. That was why he never voiced it to them. He knew there was no family for him to go home to, but he dreamed that maybe it was possible. He had nobody. He breathed in deeply through his nose to try and clear his mind and was assaulted by a scent from the other room.

The smell of lavender hit his senses. '_Hinata-chan__'_ Maybe he wasn't so alone. Perhaps she was the one waiting for him at home. She would wait for him at home when he was out, and when they would see each other they would always give the other a passionate kiss. He smiled some at the thought that maybe he did have some kind of family. Though in the back of his mind he had a faint impression that it wasn't like that, but for now he could live with this thought.

He stayed in the shower for nearly another twenty minutes just cleaning off the old grim and blood that only he could get to on his body. They had cleaned him up some apparently while he was unconscious, but only he could truly clean himself without them invading too much of his privacy. Finally he felt decently clean enough to turn off the shower and step out of the shower and quickly dry himself off before walking back into the room and crawling back in the bed.

XxXxXxXxX

-Hinata-

Lazily she started to open her eyes as the morning sun drifted through the dark blinds of the hotel room. She smiled brightly as she thought about the dream she had been in only moments before. Naruto had whisked her off her feet to immediately go on a date after he woke up. Then he declared how much he loved her and just what she meant to him and she was in bliss. Her cheeks started to turn a deeper crimson as she remembered what happened after the date in the dream.

She started to take in her surroundings in the small room. The bathroom door was open, which it wasn't previously, and she could see a used towel lying on the ground. When she turned her head to look at the other side of the room she was met with a shock of golden hair. The hair now completely clean from its previous grimy state now seemed to have an even brighter glow to it than previously before his change.

He had been up and walking around, a definite good sign to her as to his state of health. They had been feeding him food pills while he was unconscious, but he needed real food too. At least now he could get that if he was finally feeling better.

She took note that he had three tails wrapped around himself and the other two wrapped around her. She blushed at the thought of him caring so much about her. Then it struck her. The memory of what happened before she passed out and she sat up in bed quickly. '_Mate…his mate……I'm his mate……I'M HIS MATE!' _ Her face red as a tomato, but a bright smile adorned it in the privacy of the small room as she stared at his sleeping form. It was like a dream come true for her.

In the excitement of it all she didn't notice how she was moving up and down a little on the bed. She didn't realize the commotion she was causing until she heard a loud yawn coming from the other occupant in the bed. Her eyes snapped down and met the tired eyes blue eyes of Naruto. He gave her a lazy grin as he looked at her and scratched behind his ears.

"Hey Hinata-chan what are you doing up?"

That foxy grin that captivated her so much over the years now mixed with his new fox like appearances, build, and the fact that he was in bed with her gave Hinata one thought. '_I am the luckiest girl alive…'_ She zoned out for a second in thought, but when she came back Naruto had his hand next to her cheek.

"You ok Hinata? You zoned out for a minute."

His finger tips grazed her cheek loving and she couldn't help it. She felt a shock go down her spine at his touch and he whole body shivered from the feeling. He still looked at her with concerned eyes.

"Hinata you're shivering! Are you cold? Are you sick?"

His blue eyes looked into hers deeply as he tried to comfort her. She felt the warmness of his tails wrap around her as now she was completely covered by the golden appendages. A warmth that was so foreign to her that when taken away she craved it like a drug. This also caused a problem for the already overloaded girl however.

When the tails wrapped around Naruto switched over to cover her, she was revealed to something completely unexpected. Apparently he didn't dress himself again after his shower. Hinata was now sitting on the same bed with a naked Naruto laying next to her with five fox tails wrapped around her. Hinata fainted with one thought after seeing the sight. '_Luckiest…girl…alive….'_

XxXxXxXxX

-Kakashi-

"You're too late."

There was no shock on the pairs face as they turned to look up towards him. He had been tailing them since the moment he saw the two at the poor fruit vendor who was put into a trance. Then again, Kakashi had made to real attempt to hide his presence at all. An upfront approach was the best in this situation he felt. And Kakashi couldn't help but thank his lucky stars that Sasuke had gone with Sakura to the hot springs on the other side of the village.

Kakashi sat on top the corner of a tea house roof that sat across from the hotel as he observed the two with Icha Icha Paridise book in one hand and the other used to lean back against the flat surface. The pair looked at him curiously as to why he would reveal himself so openly to him. He couldn't read Itachi at all, but he didn't even need the sharingan eye to see that Kisame was puzzled about the situation. Kakashi had always figured Kisame the type to just tear everything apart instead of look underneath the underneath.

"Hatake Kakashi" Itachi spoke out slowly. "What is it you want."

Itachi's voice held no emotion as he spoke. He didn't ask a question, it was much more a calm statement for Kakashi to answer. Still it didn't even make Kakashi flinch after dealing with it before.

"Exactly what I said. You are too late."

For a second Kakashi considered bringing his book up to read from it. It wasn't that he was afraid of being attacked when reading it. He was more afraid of insulting the two he was dealing with by reading from it while holding a conversation and he knew that Kisame had very little patience. He didn't want an s class battle to start in the streets of this small village. Though he could admit he did like holding a little information over their heads.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Kisame voiced out loudly.

Kakashi threw a lazy glance at him before looking directly back at Itachi. He only held a slight advantage over Itachi because of his knowledge of the situation Itachi had walked into. If a fight broke out right now he was sure he would lose. However Itachi had no idea about just how many Konoha ninjas were present in the village. He was more than confident in their ability to all together take the two down. He would still rather avoid a fight in the small village though.

"One of your old associates decided he would play with the seal on Naruto."

Itachi's eyes widened slightly for only a split second before his composure was regained and his eyes narrowed on Kakashi. "What did Orochimaru do?"

Kakashi lifted his single visible eyebrow. He knew Itachi would be able to figure it out, but it was a little quicker than he expected for the missing nin.

"As I said, he played with the seal and changed Naruto."

"Stop playing with me Hatake. Tell me what he did or I will go see for myself." Itachi spoke sharply at Kakashi.

Kakashi rubbed a hand through his hair as he thought of how best to put this. "Well it looks like Orochimaru wanted a new pet, so he fused Naruto and the Kyuubi then wiped out their memories."

Kakashi made to stand up and get in front of the hotel door, but it was too late. Already Itachi was in the air on the second floor in front of the window Kakashi knew would lead into the second floor hallway. Kakashi leapt into the air to chase after him. Kisame leapt into the air to intercept Kakashi, but was slammed in his side by a green blur and shot down into the ground.

'_Thank you __Gai__'_

Kakashi made it to the hallway window and leapt in without stopping. He could see Itachi making his way down the hall till he reached the door that held Naruto. A quick shunshin placed him to the side of Itachi with a kick already swinging at Itachi's head. The dark haired man simply ducked under and placed a kick into Kakashi side sending him back down the hall and into Kiba and Chouji who had just run up at the commotion followed by more people. Kakashi looked up in a mild panic at Itachi who now stood in front of the door and opened it quickly.

Only to shut it again just as quickly and stride back down the hall slowly with a slight blush on his face as he walked past the stunned shinobi. As he was about to reach the window again he stopped and spoke.

"Kakashi. Tell him that he may have changed, but we will never stop hunting him. Not until the power that is now a part of him becomes ours. We will achieve our goal."

With that Itachi leapt back outside. Kakashi ran to the window and looked outside as Itachi called to Kisame.

"Stop that Kisame. We are leaving."

The fight that Gai had been struggling in was abruptly ended as Kisame leapt away with what Kakashi could only describe as a pout. "What do you mean Itachi? I didn't even get to kill anyone."

"Let's go Kisame, we must report to leader." After that Itachi turned around and started walking away. "Then we have a snake to hunt."

From behind him Kakashi head a door open and he snapped around quickly. What he saw made him wish he never had turned around. Leaning outside the door to his room was a puzzled looking Naruto. The problem wasn't Naruto himself, but the fact that this Naruto had no cloths on and didn't seem to care as he stood there.

"Who the fuck was that?!"

Everyone standing there fell over in shock.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Yes I know, I am horrible at updating. Sorry it's just hard for me to sit down and write sometimes. I think I might have ADD sometimes. Anyway chapters after this one should start to be longer and put out faster, at least I hope.


	9. The Mate

Kitsune Memories

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

The Mate

She didn't honestly know how to feel right now. Should she feel amazed at the sight before her? Or should it horrify her to be seeing this sight. Her eyes simply couldn't look away, even though her stomach was telling her that she simply had too. She had seen it before…but this was a completely new scale.

They were all sitting at tables in the inns dining room after reserving the rest of the inn for their private use. The table easily stretched a good twelve feet down and three feet across, more than enough room for a party of guests…if there was room that is. Instead everyone else sat at different tables and simply watched at bowls and plates now completely covered the long table and were now starting to reach upwards towards the ceiling now that there was no empty room left.

Sakura noticed that even Chouji himself was looking on in amazement at Naruto eating. Piles upon piles of ramen bowls, barbeque plates, and other assorted dishes lay completely eaten all around as Naruto ate like none had ever seen before. The young fox boy sat at the table engulfing food like a small tornado. She felt a nudge in her ribs as Ino elbowed her, never taking her eyes off the sight before her.

"Sakura…what should I be feeling right now?" She whispered.

"I have no idea." She replied back in all honesty. "I don't understand where he is putting it all."

"The owners have had to go to the market to buy food twice already. He keeps cleaning them completely out of food." Ino sounded worried. "Do you know how much this is running our bill up?!" She whispered in a harsh voice.

Sakura swallowed the nervous lump in her throat, hoping to god that she didn't even have to help pay a fraction of the amount that was going into this. Lucky for her thought Jiraiya wasn't present; maybe they could push the bill on him and run after he came back from the hot springs.

"How was Hinata when you checked on her?" Ino continued into her ear.

"Sound asleep still…I guess after seeing…_that_…well you know." Sakura whispered into Ino's ear nervously. She herself wasn't present at the time, but she had defiantly heard the gossip from Ino when she got back with Sasuke.

Speaking of Sasuke she hadn't seen him around for a little while. Last she saw he was sitting on the corner of the roof of the inn in deep though. She wanted to be there with him, but as the best medic in the group she needed to observe Naruto for atleast a while now that he was up and about. Likely Sasuke was angry because they didn't make it back in time to confront Itachi and she could tell deep down that he was still just itching to kill him. He just needed some time to cool down…she hoped.

She had been observing Naruto for a number of hours now and checked him out thoroughly when that had first arrived. Medically she could figure out anything possible for them to do to help him get back to normal. It was beginning to look like it would be left up to Jiraiya and Tsunade to figure out some sort of cure for him. The best she could do right now was keep him in good health.

She sighed as she thought of everything that had been happening in the past few days. Weeks of running to find Naruto, followed by watching Kabuto's death and discovering the new Naruto, and already Akatsuki had managed to find out about the new Naruto. Naruto and Hinata were suddenly in a relationship, Sasuke was brooding over Itachi, and….ARGH it was just so aggravating.

Then all the noise in the room suddenly stopped as the eating ceased. Naruto was there in mid bite of a piece of meat with his eyes wide. His ears standing straight up and focused. Sakura could see his features crease into a smile. Then the only thing in that spot was the piece of meat hanging in the air before it fell on the plate and Naruto was gone.

"What just happened?"

XxXxXxXxX

-Hinata-

_It had been such a wonderful day. How on earth could something like this possibly happen? How had __Kabuto__ and his teammates made this deep into __Konoha__ without some kind of alarm being raised? How did they know that __Naruto__ would be here right now? And why did they have to come on the day she finally got the courage she wanted to ask him out?!_

_The morning had all started so wonderfully. She woke up with a smile on her face and went through her morning rituals. Ate a pleasant breakfast with her family and immediately ran out the door to get to the training grounds to meet __Naruto__ She blushed as she walked steadily down the road. The morning air was crisp and cool. There wasn't a single person that was walking about in the early morning hour except for her. _

_On the way she was considering her current relationship with __Naruto__. She knew that he no longer cared for Sakura as a lover, but only as a sister now. But that left her with one problem. Just who was __Naruto__ interested in now? He had never mentioned anyone to her while they trained. Maybe he was just not interested in anyone right now?_

_She and __him__ had been training together every morning. Maybe he could be starting to get attached to her like she was him? At least she was no longer stuttering in front of him anymore…well…unless he was really close. Maybe she should just take the risk and ask him out to lunch? Yeah…and if he does accept, even as just a friend, then at least she will get to spend some more time with him. It was a brilliant plan; she would just ask if he wanted to go get some ramen. There was no way he would refuse. __Right?_

_Then she turned the corner and nearly had a heart attack as she entered the training grounds. __Naruto__ was already out in the center of the field training in different __katas__. His__ shirt was off and to the side and he was training only in a pair of pants, his headband was lying on top of his shirt. Sweat was glistening off of his rippling muscles in the morning sun and he flawlessly executed the next part of the __kata__. In that second two beings spoke inside __Hinata's__ mind._

_'Oh my god.__ I can't do this.' Spoke a small timid __Hinata__ hiding in her coat. _

_'__**Oh we are so asking him out' **__Spoke a leather wearing __Hinata__ as she licked her lips._

_'What?!'__'__**What?!'**__ They both shouted at each other._

_**'Are you telling me you don't want to go out with that?!'**__Leather __Hinata__ yelled as she pointed towards __Naruto_

'_I do…but…how?'__ She whispered out._

_**'**__**Its**__** simple. We just ask if we just walk over there…'**_

_'Yeah.'_

_**'**__**We zip down our jacket just a little teasing bit…'**_

_**'**__Umm…'_

_**'Then we ask him if he wants to go get some ramen.'**_

_'__ok__…'_

_**'Then we spill the ramen on us. And have him lick it up!'**_

_Shy __Hinata__ stood there in horr__or at the serious face staring back at her__. They stood there for a few moments just looking at each other. Then it was all ruined when__ the day dreaming__Hinata__ was forcefully snapped back into reality when __Naruto__ was inches away from her face asking if she was ok._

_After she had woken up after feintin__g their training had started like normal. They both warmed up and did their different __katas__. She kept stealing peeks at __Naruto__ as he trained, now with a shirt, and __for some reason she kept imagining him stealing glances at her.__ After their warm ups were over they started into light sparing that eventually escalated into an all out spar between the two. __Both moving quickly across the field at a speed that most __Jounin__ would struggle to even see._

_They stood across from each other her panting for breath and him looking a little winded, but still ready to go. Years ago she would__ have wondered how it was possible for him to have so much energy. Now though s__he understood it was the __Kyuubi__ that gave him the amazing stamina._

_**'You know what else that stamina would be good for.'**_

_Hinata__ blus__hed brightly as she stood there looking at __Naruto__. He started walking over with a small smile on his face. "__Lets__ take a break ok __Hinata-chan__?" She nodded slightly and followed him over to a nearby tree to relax at. _

_**'Ask him now!'**_

_"__Naruto__-kun."__Hinata__ called out. He turned around from his walking and looked at her expectantly. She worked up all the courage she could. "Um… I was wondering if you…"_

_Just as she was about to ask a kunai landed in between them,__ s__ignaling the entrance of their attackers. Both__Hinata__ and __Naruto__ were fighting hard against the superior numbers they were up against, but they were starting to dwindle. She stood panting her chakra nearly at its end standing across a particularly strong __Jounin__. He himself looked winded, but not too bad off._

_She heard a small explosion a little ways away and it drew her attention away for the slightest moment, wondering if it was __Naruto__ that had gotten hurt. When she turned back to her opponent she saw him whisper the name of a __jutsu__ under his breath and __a large amount of chakra gathering in his hands. __ Her eyes widened as he threw his hands forward and a wave of chakra __flew forward. She tried, but knew she didn't have the energy to form a __Kaiten__ or put up any kind of defense. She shut her eyes waiting for the pain._

_"ODAMA RASENGAN!" _

_She heard the words come from above her and looked up to see __Naruto__ come flying from behind her and slamming a massive __rasengan__ straight into the __wave of chakra coming at her. The result was massive. A huge explosion erupted right in front of her and she saw __Naruto__ being thrown at her from the shockwave. She tried to catch him as best she could, but th__ey were both thrown __back and skidded along the ground._

_Darkness was starting to cloud her eyes as she looked around groggily, she could barely move. She turned her head to the side and saw __Naruto__ lying next to her with his eyes closed. She reached over and gently grazed his whiskered cheek with her hand. Soon as she touched him though his eyes shot wide open each one colored a deep crimson. __Hinata__ gasped "__Kyuubi__"_

_"__**The boy is unconscious."**__The __Kyuubi__ whispered out to her, l__ooking at her with fierce intensity. "__**He **__**cant**__** hear what I am about to tell you, but I need to**__** know. How do you feel about the**__** boy?"**_

_Hinata's__ eyes widened and a flush came to her cheeks. __"W-what?"__ She could hear the sounds of the other __shinobi__ recovering._

_**"We have no **__**time,**__** I need you to tell me how you feel."**____ He whispered out urgently._

_"I-I care for him."__ She whispered out as she bit her lip with nervousness._

_**"Is that it? Is that all you feel?"**__ He pushed further._

_Hinata__ looked torn at what to say. "I…I"_

_**"Tell me girl."**_

_"I…I love him…I love him so much." She felt tears come out of her eyes as she spoke and she was trembling. To her surprise the __Kyuubi__ actually smirked at her with amusement in his eyes._

_**"That's what I thought. The brat loves you too, just too shy to say it."**__ His eyes danced with amusement as he saw her eyes widen. Then she saw her eyes slowly star__ting to dim out as__ she was losing consciousness__**"One more thing girl.**__** Do you wish to be with this boy?"**_

_She nodded her head as best as she could as he eyes became lidded. She saw __Kyuubi__ crawl over towards __her__and__ lean his face over hers. She would have blushed brightly had she been able to think straight. Her eyes started to darken before finally he opened his mouth above her. His canines long and sharp before he bit into her neck and she felt a warm tingling feeling rush through her entire body.__**"You are his. **__**Now and forever."**__Kyuubi__ whispered out to her._

_"I…already…was…" She whispered out. Just before she fell unconscious she saw __Kyuubi__ run off leading the sound ninja away._

XxXxXxXxX

-Hinata-

She groaned as she started to wake up. The dream still fresh in her mind she wanted to return to the dream she was in. Sadly it was not meant to be though as the afternoon sun shone brightly on her eye lids. Her eyes fluttered open and she stretched her arms over her head. Then like a bullet in her head she remembered a key detail of the dream.

She pushed her hair back on her neck and felt along the smooth pale skin. Only to discover that she couldn't feel any such mark. She sat up in her bed and saw her back pack next to her. Reaching into she pulled out a mirror and gasped at what she saw. There was a tattoo like swirl mark right where her neck and shoulder met. It was the same swirl symbol that Naruto wears on his clothing.

Hinata nearly squealed in joy at the sight. Shy lay back on the bed looking up towards the ceiling with a bright smile on her face. She hugged herself tightly and sighed dreamily, idly wondering where her mate was right now. She giggled as the word mate though her thoughts.

Her question as to where her mate was answered quickly when all the door of the room stood open and Naruto was there with a bright grin on his face, his tails waving behind him in all their glory. Hinata smiled at him with a blush on her face.

Then he was suddenly in the air flying towards her with his arms outstretched. Hinata gave a loud "eep" before he landed on top of her. His arms wrapped around her immediately as he nuzzled his cheek against hers. She was blushing a bright red, but still managed to stay in the world of the awake. Perhaps now that she knew she was his mate…it was just easier for her.

"How are you feeling now Hinata-chan." Naruto spoke softly as he wrapped his tails around the both of them. The feeling indescribable to her. The warmth, the tenderness, the feeling of belonging, it all made her feel so very relaxed.

"M-much better now Naruto-kun." She spoke softly as she held him too. A shy smile adorned her feature as she reached one hand up and scratched him behind his fox ear. She was pleasantly surprised when she started feeling a rumbling as Naruto seemed to purr in content to the scratching. She giggled a little bit at this. "Much better."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Fixed a weird mistake with the italics.


	10. A Long Road Home

eKitsune Memories

Disclaimer: Last I checked I still don't own Naruto

A Long Road Home

Oh gods he was warm. His head was resting on her shoulders as he kept himself tangled in her, his body still reacting to her scratching behind the ears. Hinata blushed heavily as she looked around the room thinking about the situation. She was here cuddling with Naruto in a room all by themselves.

'_**Right where we want him!'**_Hinata's eyes widened as that voice popped back into her head again. **'**_**Look at him. He's putty in our hands.'**_

'_T-this is fine…'_

'_**Don't even think about it. Look at him! He's so under our control…'**_

Hinata snapped out of her thoughts as she let out a moan as she felt something hot and wet on her neck. She looked down to see Naruto's blue eyes looking directly into hers with a seductive grin on his face. __His eyes looked into hers like she was the only thing in the world that mattered.

'…_**I don't mind being controlled…'**_ spoke a drooling inner self.

All thoughts on arguing with herself were thrown out the window as she felt Naruto start to suckle on the sensitive flesh of her neck, nipping and licking where he pleased bringing more high pitched noises from her. Her face felt flushed and she could feel her whole body warming up the attention he was paying to her.

She felt his body shift upwards and then his lips touched hers and she moaned into them. His hand was rubbed her hip as his other was placed underneath of her head gently feeling her hair. His kiss passionate and loving at the same time. Oh gods she could die happy.

Then it all left and she felt dazed as she tried to figure out what was happening. Naruto was now lying next to her with his back on the bed with his arm around her shoulders. He had a serious look on his face as he looked towards the door. She was still breathing heavily, but it only got worse as her breathing turned panicked as the door opened wide with Neji standing in the door.

The fox boy and the Hyuuga stared intensely at each other. Neji reading the emotions playing on Hinata's face with ease, but Naruto's demeanor was throwing him off. She felt Naruto pull her a 

little closer to him and snuggle against her. She was beginning to feel very uncomfortable with the situation.

"What do you want blood traitor."

Naruto's words were so cold she could hardly believe it. The way he looked towards Neji seemed to be filled with barely controlled anger. Neji too looked surprised by Naruto's words.

"Naruto…I don't understand what it-"

"Can it. I don't care what you have to say. You attacked family." Naruto spoke out coldly. "If I ever see you near her again like that. I'll kill yo-"

Naruto stopped his rant when Hinata placed her hand on his shoulder stopping him. She looked at him with worry in her eyes as he stared back at her confused. "Naruto-kun stop that."

"Wha-?"

"Nii-san apologized to me ages ago and has done his best to make up for what he did to me. I accepted his apology. It's ok."

"What? No. Theres nothing worse than turning your back on your family! I saw it. He nearly killed you! That's unforgivable." The conversation had completely changed from what it was previously. Now it was simply an argument between Naruto and Hinata while Neji stood off to side waiting for his chance to make his opinion known.

"But I _did_ forgive him and so did _you_ before this whole accident. You and Neji were good friends with each other after he apologized to me. He won't ever hurt me again Naruto."

Naruto didn't speak for a few moments and she was afraid that he wouldn't be able to forgive Neji as he stared intensely at her. Then finally he let out a large breath and flopped back against the bed and put his hands behind his head as he lay there with his eyes closed.

"Well if Hinata-chan can forgive you I guess I can too." His eyelids opened slowly as he stared directly at Neji. Hinata could see some red bleeding into Naruto's eyes. "But if I ever see anything…"

Naruto just let the threat hang in the air as the crimson in his eyes disappeared and the blue that Hinata loved so much return to them. Then he smiled at Neji as if nothing happened. "So what are you doing here Neji, we were in the middle of something."

"Clearly." Neji spoke with a smirk.

Naruto leaned down next to Hinata's head after Neji spoke. She could feel her blush rising as Naruto had that fox like grin on his face. "You know what they say about Kitsune, demons that master in the arts of trickery and _seduction_."

Hinata felt a shiver run down her entire body when he spoke the last word with a hot breath onto her ear before he nipped it. Neji's smirk disappeared instantly and was replaced with a scowl directed at the fox boy. "Do not touch my cousin that way. I don't know where you got the idea of her being your mate, but-"

"I got the idea, because she is. She already bares my mark after all." Naruto spoke as he used his finger to tilt Hinata's head to the side gently. Before Neji could see what he was talking about though Hinata slapped her hand over the spot with a large blush.

"Oh come on Hinata-chan show him. What could it hurt?" He nuzzled into her neck.

'_You…when Neji kills you…'_ She thought as she felt him gently remove her hand with little resistance. Neji took it better than she thought though. His eyes widened in shock as he looked at the marking on her neck, his mouth slightly agape as he stared at it and her back and forth.

"You let him do this to you!?" This was clearly the loudest and most shocked Hinata had ever seen Neji in her entire life. His eyes filled with disbelief and worry. "What will your father do?"

Hinata's eyes widened as she thought about what her father was going to say. No one in the Hyuuga family had ever married without the clan's approval beforehand? Well she wasn't technically "married" per say by their customs…but still she was his "Mate", which is married in his terms right? Oh boy what had she gotten herself into…

"Her father? What should he care as long I love and protect her?" Naruto questioned.

"Naruto it doesn't work like that. Politics come into play and your status has to do with it also. There's just no way he will allow it-"

Killing intent flooded the room so suddenly Hinata felt as if she fell into ice water. She could see Naruto's eyes had taken that deep crimson color once again. His upper lip had risen some showing his longer canines and his hair stood on end as he growled. "**No one will take her away from me.**"

And as quick as it had come it had gone again. Hinata could only think that he released it immediately after making his point. She didn't know whether to feel happy that he would never let go of her, or worried about how out of hand this could get. Neji stood stock still in the door way, a cold sweat present on his face. Shakily he nodded his head and backed out the door closing it on the way.

"Now where were we?" Naruto whispered out as he went in for another kiss before he found her hand pushing him back. Puzzled he looked at Hinata. "What's wrong?"

She bit her lip nervously in front of him as she worked up the nerve to go through with what she was planning to say. He backed away from her hand then sat cross legged facing her, his head tiled slightly to the side with a puzzled look on his face.

"Naruto-kun…I don't want you threatening Neji-nii-san like that. He is only trying to do what he thinks is best for me." She stuttered out nervously in front him. She noticed that as she spoke his ears started to sag down as if he was an animal being scolded and the depressed look on his face made her instantly want to take back everything she said.

"…are you saying that you want them to take you away from me?" His voice was so broken and dead sounding and she could see tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. The tails that had been cocooned around her body loosened their hold and slowly started to slink away. Hinata panicked quickly and scrambled across the bed over to him before he could take off. The result ending with Hinata on top of Naruto pinning him down.

"No no no no." She spoke rapidly shaking her head side to side causing her dark blue hair cascade around her face. "I want to be with you always, but…I also want you to be you." She bit her lip nervously looking down at him. "And the Naruto I know would die before threatening his friends."

His eyes had always held so much emotion to her. She could always tell just what was happening deep down in his soul by looking so carefully in those eyes of his. And right now she was seeing the torment he was going through. Tears started to gather in the corners of his eyes as he stared up into hers. "I don't know who I am Hinata-chan…"

She bent her arms down so that she was lying on top of him before wrapping her arms around him. She rested her head next to his as he crushed her to him with his own arms. Tears leaked out of her eyes as well as she whispered into his ear.

"I'll help teach you again."

XxXxXxXxX

-Jiraiya-

_Thud thud thud_

"Jiraiya would you knock that off? It's getting annoying." He heard the voice of Kakashi sound out from a few feet to his left.

What Kakashi was referring to was the sound of Jiraiya's skull repeatedly thumping backwards against the rocks of the hot spring they sat in. For several minutes now Jiraiya had just sat there thumping his head like a metronome against the stone as the two sat there relaxing.

Jiraiya stared up into the stars in the sky as hit head rested backwards on the edge of the spring. "I have no idea what to do Kakashi…" He let out a long sigh as he reached backwards with his arm trying to find one of the sake bottles he had brought with him into the hot springs.

"I'm a master of nearly ever ninja art in the world. But as of this moment I have no idea what to do." He punctuated this statement with a deep swig of the bottle in his hand. He was certain that his cheeks were tinted red from the amount that he had consumed.

"So there's nothing you can do?" Kakashi questioned as he placed a warm washcloth on top of his head, matting down the spiky hair he was so well known for. A slight look of depression on his normally care free face was apparent to Kakashi.

"As of this moment…not a damn thing." Jiraiya slurred out. "I don't have the first clue what to do. I'm going to need to spend a lot of time in the vault back in Konoha to even get a clue where to start."

"The seal is gone, what can we do?" Kakashi questioned as he leaned back against the wall next to Jiraiya.

"I'm not sure…maybe the seal isn't really gone? Maybe we just can't see it?" He chugged down another swig from the bottle. "That still leaves me with nothing though. Fact is….I have no way of figuring things out here…"

"I guess you can go back to Konoha an-" Kakashi started off. Before he could finish though Jiriaya sat up and gave Kakashi a serious look in Kakashi's eye. Jiriaya set his bottle down and wiped the remaining sake off of his lips.

"He has to go back to Konoha Kakashi." He raised his hand before Kakashi could protest. "He needs to be looked at by Tsunade-hime. Not only that, but we might have to try different things on him, and we can't do that if he's all the way back here."

"It won't be safe for him back there Jiraiya. You know what will happen." Sudden realization struck Kakashi and his eye widened as he realized something. "Jiraiya you do realize what time of the year it is?"

Jiraiya's eyebrow raised in confusion as he looked at Kakashi. "What are you-" Jiraiya spoke before he suddenly realized what he was talking about. "The chunnin exam." Jiraiya thoughts ran a million miles a second. With the exams taking place thousands would be coming into the village for the spectacle of the exams and the final round matches.

Jiraiya rubbed his chin some as he looked to the night sky. "I guess the only thing that we can do is hide him once we get him back. At least until we can figure out something to do. It should make it easier for us to sneak him inside though with all the commotion going on."

"I suppose that's our only real choice eh? I suppose we could disguise him as we sneak him in. Maybe as a prisoner and cover him up." Jiraiya stood up and stepped out of the hot spring and started to walk down towards the changing room with a slight sway to step. Before he could make it though one of his bottles happened to roll underneath his foot and the last thing he saw before being knocked unconscious was Kakashi covering his eye with his hand.

XxXxXxXxX

-Kaede Hayashi-

He sipped his tea with a bored expression as he read his newspaper. This was his perhaps his café in all of Konoha, but then again he didn't hold much love for the village anyway. It was after all just a temporary assignment that he was here. It wasn't that he hated the village, honestly he didn't even like his own that much, but this village was just too peaceful for his likes. He simply liked the thrill of excitement and the higher pay of his current employer.

The small café held a perfect position being on the main street that leads to its most popular gate, his quaint little table sitting out in the street as he observed passersby. A nice spotted that he had picked out to be his area to grab his morning tea. This morning held no difference in compared to most. Except for when someone sat down at the table right behind him and leaned back against his chair.

"We've been sent a message." Kaede heard the young man whisper from behind him. "Something happened back at base. Kabuto is dead and one of his prisoners has escaped."

Kaede rolled his eyes as the younger man continued to explain what the situation was. He had known for a long time just what kind of experiments took place back in the labs and the monstrosities that would shock all of Konoha into a panic. That's why he was a spy; he was good at getting information. Plus he wanted to stay as far away from there as possible. "Just tell me what he wants me to do." Kaede interrupted.

"He wants you to expose the prisoner their bringing back under guard to the public."

And Kaede grinned as he thought of the fun.


	11. Lights in the Forest

"Wow, I can't wait to get out of here!" Naruto yelled as he stretched his arms above his head. Hinata watched on, amused as Naruto could barely stand still inside of the small room they had been occupying for the past few weeks. She could tell he was just itching to get outside and get on their way.

"Oh! I almost forgot to tell you!" He exclaimed happily as he jumped onto the bed on his knees. She laughed some more as the mattress caused her to bounce up and down from his jumping. "I had another dream last night!"

Hinata's eyes widened at the revelation. He had told her the other days that he was getting dreams of people and places from his memories. Jiraiya had told her that it was possible that he was starting to remember and that it was just coming back to him through dreams.

"I dreamed there were these massive gates and walls in front of me as I walked along a path! It had this big symbol for fire on it and then I woke up as the gate started opening." She couldn't help but smile at the way he waved his arms around in the air to express the size of the gates of their village.

"That's Konoha, Naruto. It's our home." She told him happily as he smiled brightly at the news.

"That's so cool!" He said as he rolled his body backwards into a hand stand on the foot of the beds frame. Almost immediately it became a one handed stand as he pulled the other behind his back. Hinata only watched on as he displayed a sense of balance he had never before possessed.

"Naruto-kun? Since when could you balance like that-t-t?" She blushed as the black shirt he had been wearing before came loose from the black cargo pants he had been wearing. The shirt falling down over his face had no effect on his balance though as he pushed off the frame and landed back on it with his feet.

He smiled at her with bright eyes as he balanced there. "I don't know; I just feel so nimble right now. I feel like I could float through the air." She giggled as he once again began his balancing act on the bed frame.

_Knock Knock_

"Come in!" Naruto shouted happily upside down. Kakashi opened the door holding a large brown cloak in his hands and looked at Naruto with a puzzled expression for a few moments before his eye creased in a smile. Without warning he tossed the cloak at the young man knocking him off the frame.

"Hey! What's the big idea?" Naruto sputtered as he got up of the ground with the cloak in his grip. Kakashi just pointed at the cloak before speaking.

"Throw it on; it's time to go home."

XxXxXxXxX

-Kakashi-

"Naruto, would you cut that out! What if someone spots us?" The pink haired girl yelled at the fox boy as he, once again, did several flips in the air past her as they jumped from tree to tree. The hood of the cloak had come off almost the second they got a foot into the forest, and since then, he had been jumping around to his heart's content all day.

For a second he stopped upside down at a tree ahead, hanging only by his tails. "Nope!" He laughed before leaping off again into the canopy above. Kakashi could only chuckle at the hyper blond as he would randomly fly in from different directions catching all of them off guard, only to laugh about it and take off again. Every once in a while he would fly in and peck Hinata on the cheek before taking off again, resulting in a ticked off Neji and slightly jealous looking Kiba.

"He most certainly is full of energy isn't he Kakashi?" he could hear Kurenai question him from behind as she caught up to run along side of him and Asuma.

"Hai. You can't really blame him after being stuck inside for so long though. Think about how it would feel to be trapped indoors as long as he was." Kakashi announced to the group, his eye crinkled up into a smile. Some of the group smiled along with Kakashi, while some still looked a little annoyed at the blond's antics.

This was when Naruto decided to take the opportunity to leap through the group and tap Kiba, Neji, and Sakura on the back of their heads before leaping off again into the tree's laughing.

"That's it! Get him!!" Sakura roared as hours of the blonds antics finally hit her last nerve and took off after the laughing blond with Kiba and Neji on her tail. The blond smiled merrily as he leapt over the first punch swung by the medic and jumped off her back and into another tree.

"He has a great sense of timing to interrupt the moment still I see." Kakashi muttered as several members of the group joined in on laughing with him. Watching in amusement as the three shinobi tried their best to flatten the playful kitsune.

"He's gotten much more agile." Asuma commented as he stared at the sight and Kakashi couldn't help but agree as Naruto jumped around and dodged the attacks as if they were nothing. Kakashi could tell that the group wasn't really trying to hurt Naruto, but they were still trying to hit him and teach him a lesson. Still though, the blond danced between their attacks with a childlike smile on his face.

"Haha you're never gonna catch me like that! Naruto taunted the three as he leapt backwards from tree to tree. He most certainly was only playing with them, but Kakashi was starting to wonder how much more abuse the three's ego could take without them getting seriously angry.

"I'LL KILL YOU NARUTO!" Sakura roared.

'_Kind of surprised she lasted that long really…'_ Kakashi chuckled at the emotional pink haired student of his. Naruto still laughed though, as he dodged a chakra infused punch and pushed the girls back slightly, causing her to topple over, only fuelling her anger more.

It had been a while since Kakashi was able to laugh lightly about the antics of his former students. It was rare these days that he got to go with them on any missions, seeing as how they had all grown up and were taking solo missions these days. Their team had broken up long ago, but their bonds to each other still remained.

His eyebrows quickly furrowed in worry though as he noticed Naruto's ears turn away from the group and focus towards the east and Naruto's concentration drift away from his little play fight. Kakashi winced as Naruto paid for that moment in time with a very strong chakra infused punch to the stomach and was sent flying through several tree branches before crashing into the ground in a small crater below the group.

"Oh my god! Naruto!" Sakura yelled out in worry as she realized what she had done and leapt down towards the crater along with the rest of the group.

Kakashi stopped on a branch high above the rest of the group and peered off towards the east, in the same direction that Naruto had focused his attention on. Removing the head band from his eye he gazed into distance and saw nothing of interest with his sharingan. '_What did he hear?'_

"What the hell?"

The shout roared from below him. Kakashi glanced down to see Naruto coming out of the crater looking perfectly fine. Even Kakashi had to arch his eyebrow a bit as Naruto simply dusted himself off with a smile as those with medical experienced fussed to make sure he was ok.

'_He took one of Sakura's punches straight to the stomach and just brushed it off?'_ Kakashi wondered in amazement. '_I'll have to ask him about when I can catch him alone.'_

"Anything I should know about Naruto?" Kakashi commented as he leapt down from the tree branch to join the group, landing directly in front of Naruto. He subtly nodded his head in the direction of the east, easily telling Naruto what he was talking about.

"Oh! No, nothing to be worried about." Naruto smiled as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Umm do you think we could rest here tonight? I am feeling a little tired."

'_Really?'_ Kakashi wondered as he nodded his head in acceptance of Naruto's proposal. Immediately the group started to unpack their equipment in the small clearing they were in and started to set up camp. Kakashi watched Naruto energetically help Hinata get her backpack off before they started setting up a tent together.

'_He doesn't look tired at all.' _Kakashi glanced around the woods again one last time. '_Why would he want to stay here tonight?'_

XxXxXxXxX

-Hinata-

She shifted her body trying to get more and more comfortable, but it seemed that no matter what she did, she couldn't manage to do it. She didn't have that same feeling of warmth that she had had for the past several days and was reaching around searching for it. She reached out for where it should be, but found nothing and frowned at that.

She opened her tired eyes to look next to her, finding nothing but empty blankets. It took a moment for her mind to register it, but a small panic quickly rose within her as she looked around for Naruto anywhere.

"Naruto-kun?" She whispered as she glanced around the dark tent. As soon as she realized he wasn't in there she began to sit up and put her jacket back on her body. She stepped out into the cool night air, the fire that had going earlier during their dinner was just a dull glow now, and she could see Kiba and Akamaru both sleeping in rather undignified positions on the ground.

'_Aren't they supposed to be keeping watch?'_ Hinata thought as she looked at the pair. She was about to call out to them and wake them up to see if they knew where Naruto had gone when a soft blue light coming from the east caught her attention. Even though it was bright enough to cover the whole clearing in its glow, it didn't seem to alert any of the sleeping ninja.

Hinata thought for a moment about calling out to the others to get them to see this, but for some reason the words just couldn't seem to come out of her. She was just too entranced by this light. Quietly she made her way out of the camp and started walking to the east where this light was coming from. After about ten minutes of walking she started to hear the sound of rushing water and what sounded like laughing. She broke through some brush into a clearing and had to shield her eyes for a moment to let them adjust, but as soon as she could see clearly she gasped loudly at the sight before her.

Small plumes of blue fire hovered in the air several feet above her head, each one moving, seemingly randomly, around the entirety of the clearing. In the center of the clearing was a large tree covered from top to bottom in the same blue fire, but not burning at all. Hinata noticed that even with all this fire all around her, she felt no heat coming from it; the night was still cool and relaxing.

A laugh from the other side of the tree snapped her out of her trance and made her wonder where it came from. Slowly she circled around the tree and let out another gasp, immediately alerting those she was gazing upon.

Naruto lay on the ground near a river bank, his head upside down as he gazed at her with a lopsided grin. On top of his chest and surrounding him were nearly a dozen creatures that looked to be made of white flame. Hinata had to swallow the lump in her throat as she realized that whatever they were, they were all gazing at her.

The one on top of Naruto chest leapt off of him and slowly made its way towards her, it was then that Hinata realized exactly what it was she was looking at. It had a vulpine face, a long sleek body, and eight white tails wagging happily behind it. _'A Kitunse?!'_

She almost took a step back before stopping when she noticed Naruto gazing at her intently with a grin on his face. The fox stopped at her feet then sat its haunches, before looking up at her and staring her in the eyes. In an instant she felt the same feeling that she got whenever Neji would read her emotions with his eyes, only much more intense and powerful. In the next moment it was over and she saw the kitsunes tails wave happily in the air. Immediately the rest of the group sprinted over to her and joined the first one.

"She likes you." Naruto smiled as he rolled over on his belly and gazed at her. He laughed at her when one of the kitsune put its front paws on her thigh and she felt a tingle run through her whole body. "They must really like you."

Some of the kitsune, noticing Naruto's laughter, ran back over towards him before leaping at him for another play fight, which Naruto happily participated in. Hinata giggled softly as she watched the much smaller kitsune's team up on her beloved.

"Naruto-kun? What is this?" Hinata laughed as the rest of the group surrounding her ran over to join their kin in battle against Naruto.

"Hah. They are zenko foxes!"

Hinata eyes widened even further then they had been before as she realized just what these foxes were. '_Messengers of Inari-sama…celestial foxes.'_

"This is one of their homes!" Naruto shouted as he finally managed to break free of the group and make his way towards Hinata. She blushed lightly as she finally realized that Naruto was only wearing the bottoms of his pajamas. His well toned and tanned chest taking up most of her vision. "I was hoping you would come here."

His lips met hers in a searing kiss as he wrapped his arms around her waist. The kiss made her heart beat wild and her mind feel dazed. She was too lost in the kiss to notice that all of the foxes start to surround the two.

She broke away gasping for air. How did he make her feel like this? She could already feel herself getting addicted to it. "You left in the middle of the night?"

"Yeah, sorry." He apologized as he cupped her cheek with the palm of his hand. She couldn't help but lean into it. She would pout about how unfair it was that he had so much power over her, but too be honest she liked it too much to care. "I heard them earlier when we were traveling. I didn't know how they would react to me, so I didn't bring you."

"It's ok." She mumbled slightly embarrassed at the intimacy they were sharing right now. Her embarrassment was further intensified as she noticed all of the foxes happily gazing at the couple.

"It's so beautiful here." She mumbled, trying to divert the attention off of herself. Naruto smiled broadly as he gazed at the flames dancing in the sky.

"Yeah I know! This is their home." He said as he broke away from her. When he was a few feet away from her he raised the palm of his hand towards the sky. She watched in amazement when one of the same blue flames that were dancing in the night sky above them appeared in his palm. "I guess they do this during the night when they are bored. Fox fire."

"H-how did you do that?" She watched in amazement as he held the flame out towards her. He just shrugged and smiled and still held the flame.

"I don't know." He laughed as he threw the flame up into the sky where it joined the others already present. "When I walked into here they were already up in the sky. And I just thought how cool it looked and bam! One was in my hand."

She watched as he made another and held it towards her once again. Tentatively she reached her fingers towards the flame, not feeling any sort of heat coming from it. When her fingers finally passed through the flame, she was surprised to find it cool to the touch.

"Cool huh?" Naruto laughed at her face as he pulled the flame away from her hand. She was shocked though when he threw the flame towards one of the bushes at the edge of the clearing. Immediately there was nothing but ash left where it had once stood. "It only burns things I want it to burn."

"Amazing." She mouthed at the sight.

A loud bark snapped her out of her reverie as she noticed the fox with eight tails staring at them intently sitting on its haunches. Naruto laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah yeah I'm sorry."

Hinata's face must have given her confusion away, because Naruto immediately noticed that she was puzzled.

"She doesn't like me destroying things."

"Oh." Hinata was sure she still looked confused. "You understand her?"

"Hmmm I don't know." She had to brace her resolve as he gave her another dazzling smile that made her swoon. "I don't really hear the words. I just know what she's trying to say. Ya know?"

"I think I understand." She couldn't help but smile as she looked around the clearing. Many of the foxes were playing with each other, all of them had varying tails, but the one sitting by them was the only one with eight. She watched over the rest like a mother would. Naruto himself had gotten back into the spirit of playing it seemed, as he ran towards some with three tails and jumped into the fray. It didn't take long for the rest of the foxes in the clearing to join in the action with the newcomer.

'_He looks so happy.'_ She thought as she watched him play with the other kitsune. '_What will it be like for him back at our home?'_

Would he ever be as happy back in Konoha as he was right here? She shook her head furiously at the thought. '_No. Of course not. He would want to be back in Konoha with us…with me….right?'_

At the same time these thoughts were running through her head she watched as the one with eight tails was making its way towards Naruto slowly. The fighting stopped almost as soon as she reached it and Naruto stood in front of the fox. One of its white tails wrapped around Naruto's arm and semi dragged the fox boy over towards Hinata barking its whole way over.

"Can't I play a little bit longer?" Naruto whined as the pair reached her, again the fox barked at him. "I won't be too tired to go home with her you old bat!"

The fox barked even louder this time with a small growl towards Naruto. "Oh please you can't hide it! I know how to count tails! You're at least eight thousand years old!"

Hinata watched eight tails used the rest of her remaining tails to hit Naruto in the back and shove him forward. She did her best to try and catch the blond, but the suddenness of the act and his weight caught her off guard. Next thing she knew, she was on the ground with his pleasant weight on top of her.

"You crazy old bat!" Naruto yelled at the fox as he got up off Hinata and picked her up in his arms. "What if that hurt Hinata!"

Hinata just blushed as they yelled back and forth at each other. As quickly as it began though, the argument stopped as the two just stared at each other. The rest of the foxes in the area also sat there watching the two, all lined up behind the eight tails.

"Thank you." She heard Naruto whisper out as he bowed down his head. The eight tails sat there and nodded her head back to Naruto. Without another word Naruto turned around with her still in his arms and started walking back towards the camp and away from the kitune's home. Hinata took the chance to glance back towards where were they had come from. The clearing was empty as if nothing had even been there.

"I'm glad we got to meet them." She heard Naruto say from above her.

"Yeah..." she said as she thought about just how happy Naruto had been there.

"Come on Hinata." Naruto said as he shook her slightly to snap her out of her thoughts, he must have seen the distant look on her face. "Let's go to our home."

She just smiled against his chest and snuggled deeper into his arms. She would enjoy this moment now, because who knows just how many more moments they will have like this after they get back.


End file.
